Tag Archives: Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Steve Craig

Nova Scotia will lift moratorium on seafood processing and buying licences in 2023

Nova Scotia will end its five-year moratorium on issuing new seafood processing and buying licences. The “temporary” moratorium was imposed in 2018 while the province reviewed its licensing regime. Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Steve Craig says he does not know why the freeze was imposed by the previous Liberal government. “I’ve even had people tell me that the moratorium is the policy, which is not the case. The Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance lobbied for the moratorium, which still allowed for the sale or transfer of an existing licence. >click to read< 11:40

Nova Scotia: Government Urges Safety as Southwestern Lobster Season Starts

Lobster fishing season begins Monday, November 28, in Southwestern Nova Scotia. Dumping Day, as it is known in lobster fishing areas 33 and 34, brings excitement and opportunity – but also great risk. Boats are often loaded with traps and gear, and crews must be prepared for a wide range of weather conditions. “Boarding boats in the cold and dark, at the mercy of the weather and the sea, makes fishing dangerous work. Safety is a crucial priority,” said Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Steve Craig. “One tragedy is one too many, so we urge fishing captains and crews to make sure they follow their safety training and take every precaution, so they are able to come home safely to their loved ones.” >click to read< 08:07

Lobster and snow crab markets fall by as much as 65 per cent

While lobster and snow crab have long been two of the Maritimes’ most popular exports, new data suggests the markets are now falling short. At the wharf in Glace Bay, N.S., fishermen were getting about $7 a pound for lobster by season’s end and about $6 for snow crab. “It wasn’t a good year, lobster-wise or crab-wise for us,” said fishermen’s representative Herb Nash. At Louisbourg Seafoods, where lobster and snow crab have long been their biggest sellers, a record year last year gave way to a difficult 2022. “We were very optimistic coming into 2022 that we would see a replica of 2021, and that couldn’t have been further from what happened,” said Allan MacLean, a senior operations manager at the seafood business. Video, >click to read< 11:38

Canada and Nova Scotia help support adoption of new and improved on-board lobster handling/holding technologies

On behalf of the Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and Member of Parliament for Central Nova, and the Honourable Steve Craig, Nova Scotia Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, announced a total contribution of over $400,000 to help the Maritime Fishermen’s Union deliver a project to its members that will improve the quality, vitality and value of harvested lobster. This funding will help the lobster fishery in the Southeastern Northumberland Strait, Eastern Cape Breton and Southwest Nova Scotia improve the quality of lobster being marketed, the efficiency of fishing activities, and the onboard safety of crew. Live-well systems, which measure water quality, will be installed or upgraded on vessels. >click to read< 13:16

Funding announced to help support quality of harvested lobster>click to read<

Seafood processor accuses Nova Scotia government of revoking licence over clerical error

The Nova Scotia government has postponed its decision to terminate the operating licences for a family-owned fish processing company,,, SeaBrook Fisheries says it’s being shut down as the result of a clerical error during succession planning. The company failed to notify the provincial Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture that control of the company had been passed to the son of the founders. The department earlier this year ordered the company’s fish buyers and fish processors licences to be terminated this Friday, effectively putting the company, which primarily processes lobster, out of business. SeaBrook was scheduled for an emergency hearing Wednesday,,, >click to read<, and Seafood processor accuses Nova Scotia government of revoking licence over clerical error >click here< 14:17