Tag Archives: lobster processing plant
Champlain Seafood blames lack of lobsters for permanent closure of Meteghan, N.S., processing plant
A lobster processing plant in Meteghan, N.S., is shutting down permanently saying there are “not enough lobsters to sustain current processing capacity.” In a news release sent out on Tuesday, Champlain Seafood announced Riverside Lobster International (RLI) will not reopen for the upcoming spring season and will close permanently. The company said the closure will not impact its New Brunswick processing plants, notably Cape Bald Packers and Captain Dan’s. “The reason for the temporary shutdown was due to lower lobster landings and overall product availability,” said Champlain Seafood spokesperson Rachelle Gagnon. “The lobster processing industry in Atlantic Canada is continuing to see an unprecedented situation.” more, >>click to read<< 15:07
Major lobster plant in Escuminac, with 135 workers, temporarily closing
A major lobster processing plant in Escuminac is temporarily closing its doors, two years after it was purchased by a private American investment firm. Raymond O’Neill & Son Fisheries employs about 135 seasonal workers each year. It was purchased in 2021 by ACON Investments, based in Washington, D.C. Luc LeBlanc, a fisheries advisor at the Maritime Fishermen’s Union, called the job losses at O’Neill & Son “another hard blow to our coastal communities.” At least 100 fishermen benefited from the factory’s activities, said LeBlanc, who was attending the same industry meeting in Moncton Thursday. more, >>click to read<< 07:37
Chronic labour shortage hobbling Meteghan lobster plant
David Deveau is doing everything he can to find and keep local workers for his modern lobster processing plant in western Nova Scotia, but it is a battle he is losing. “We do have great local people here. I love them all. I respect them all,” said Deveau, CEO of Riverside Lobster International in the Meteghan area. “I don’t have enough. I just don’t have enough.” Deveau’s company now operates five buses daily to bring workers in from Digby and Yarmouth. Workers are paid about $13 per hour and enrolled in a defined contribution pension plan and get health benefits. The plant, which employs 300 people processing 27,000 kilograms a day of fresh and frozen lobster, is chronically short between 20 to 30 workers. Read the story here 09:52
Sea Hag Seafood’s lobster processing plant shuttered, up for auction
A seafood processing plant that opened less than four years ago with the hope of bolstering the lobster industry is closed and up for auction. Sea Hag Seafood’s plant and 7.5 acres of waterfront property at the mouth of Long Cove in Tenants Harbor will go up for auction on June 17. Kyle Murdock opened the plant in September 2012 when he 23. The project’s financing included a nearly $1.7 million loan from Camden National Bank and a $400,000 grant through the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development. The grant money was provided to the company after it created 23 jobs for low- and moderate-income workers and after it met the terms of the federal program, said Maine DECD spokesman Douglas Ray. The town of St. George had sponsored the grant application but the town will not be liable for any repayment because the jobs were created. Efforts to reach Murdock on Wednesday and Thursday by telephone and email were unsuccessful. Read the story here 19:46
Growing wings for southwest Nova lobster a priority
Last fall, the Zhangzidao Group, a Chinese seafood giant, purchased a lobster processing plant in Eastern Passage. Its subsidiary – Capital Seafoods International – will be exporting up to 10 million pounds of lobster in the near future. The new owners hired 50 new employees and are turning the plant from a seasonal to a year-round operation, spending between $1.5 and $2 million on upgrades. Read the rest here 12:23
