Tag Archives: Luc LeBlanc
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
New Brunswick: Only 2% of lobster traps scattered by Fiona retrieved so far
The massive cleanup and recovery operation to find the thousands of traps lost during post-tropical storm Fiona in September has only turned up a small number so far. The Maritime Fishermen’s Union is leading the cleanup taking place in LFA 25, a lobster fishing zone that takes in a good portion of the Northumberland Strait. The union told Radio-Canada that 1,000 traps have been found so far. Video, >click to read< 09:47
Atlantic Canada: Lobster fishery hoping for federal $$ to recover gear lost to Fiona
A plan is in the works to try to retrieve potentially thousands of lobster traps that were lost during post-tropical storm Fiona nearly two weeks ago. The storm, which battered Atlantic Canada with high winds and storm surges, resulted in tens of thousands of traps being damaged and lost in the Northumberland Strait, where fishermen in southeastern New Brunswick and northwestern Prince Edward Island are currently fishing. Luc LeBlanc, a fisheries adviser with the Maritime Fishermen’s Union, said while many traps have been recovered since the storm, “a few thousand” are still missing, and a plan is being worked out to find them and bring them ashore once the lobster season ends on Oct. 12. >click to read< 10:05
With thousands of traps lost to Fiona, N.B. lobster fishermen ask for extended season
The fishing season for Zone 25, which includes fishermen along the Northumberland Strait in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, began on Aug. 9 and was scheduled to end on Oct. 12, said Luc LeBlanc, an advisor with the Maritime Fishermen’s Union. However, with early reports those fishermen may have lost about half of all of their lobster traps, LeBlanc said the plan is to ask the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for the season to be extended until at least Oct. 15. LeBlanc said there are 388 lobster fishermen in Zone 25, with each using 250 traps at a time. That means around 42,000 traps are unaccounted for. >click to read< 07:35
Lobster prices up slightly 3 weeks after protest
Lobster prices have rebounded a bit as the fishing season nears the halfway point in the Northumberland Strait area. Fishermen are now getting about $6/pound for their catches, said Luc LeBlanc of the Maritime Fishermen’s Union. That’s up from about $4.50 a few weeks ago, when hundreds of fishermen from along the east coast of New Brunswick protested in Shediac. Some of them said they would not be going out fishing because it would cost them more than they would get paid to do so. Most are fishing, however, because they need the cash flow. >click to read< 07:49
Lobster fishermen angry about low prices refuse to fish
About 250 southeastern New Brunswick lobster fishermen gathered outside the new Homarus Centre in Shediac on Thursday after refusing to fish. The fishermen say prices are 40 per cent lower than last year, when they were getting $7 for a pound of lobster. This season, they said, they’re getting $4.50 to $5 a pound, which they say isn’t profitable with the higher expenses they’ve faced because of inflation. Luc Leblanc, the spokesperson from the Maritime Fishermen’s Union said the gathering was peaceful. “The fishermen just wanted to let their feelings known and to make a little bit of a splash, which is what they did.” Geoff Irvine of the Lobster Council Canada said prices are declining because of consumer behaviour and market patterns. >click to read< 18:21
Lobster fishing is not profitable this year, fishermen explain
Rampant inflation and cooling markets are hitting Maritime lobster fishers hard. Six days after the start of fishing in the Northumberland Strait, some of them are receiving a price up to 40% lower than last year for their catch. A fishermen’s organization believes that this is not profitable. The atmosphere was not festive at the Cap-Pelé wharf on Tuesday afternoon. Fishermen have learned what price they will get for lobster this season: between $4.50 and $5 a pound. Last year at this time they were getting $7 a pound. We have prices, but it is not strong. They say it’s blocked everywhere, that lobster doesn’t sell, that’s the reason, explains Captain Guy Cormier. I take it one day at a time, we’re not dead today. >click to read< 07:50
