Tag Archives: lobster buyer

Cape Breton lobster fishermen struggle – ‘This is the first year I had to tell my fishermen I couldn’t move their product,’

There is a lack of demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the price for lobster has dropped to $4.25 a pound. In some areas, buyers are restricting the amount they purchase from fishermen. Marlene Brogan, the manager of Ballast Grounds Fisheries, a lobster buyer in North Sydney, said they’ve had to tell fishermen they can’t buy their catch some days. “We’ve been in business 21 years and this is the first year I had to tell my fishermen I couldn’t move their product,” said Brogan. She said there have been many days the fishermen at their wharf haven’t gone out to fish. >click to read< 14:19

Lobster buyer gets his license yanked

A hearing examiner has upheld the one-year suspension of the license of a lobster buyer accused of failing to report a portion of the purchases made off a barge based in Seal Cove in Tremont. In August, Maine Marine Patrol officers summonsed Donald Crabtree Sr. of Crabtree Seafood in Brewer on a charge of violating the Department of Marine Resources’ (DMR) reporting requirements, a civil violation. Crabtree appealed his suspension. A hearing examiner last week determined that the suspension is justified, according to Sgt. Troy Dow of the marine patrol. Crabtree began using the town-owned Seal Cove Wharf as a base for his lobster business in the spring of 2015. He was mooring his 45-foot barge there and used the facility’s ramp to load bait before motoring into Blue Hill Bay to sell bait to fishermen and buy lobsters from them. The day’s catch later was offloaded at the ramp. click here to read the story 11:16

Lobster buyer balks at wharf fee increase

crabtree-lobster-bargeA lobster buyer based at the Seal Cove Wharf is asking the town to make major improvements at the wharf to justify the extra $600 he was assessed for commercial use of the facility. Donald Crabtree began using the Seal Cove Wharf earlier this year. On June 1, he paid the $400 fee then in effect for commercial use of the wharf. At the time, lobster buyers using the were paying a $2,500 fee. That fee changed July 1, when it doubled to $5,000.,, Read the rest here 10:50

Meet Holly Faulkner, lobster buyer – the Big Bras d’Or stalwart is the only female on the job — and she’s proud

One of a handful of designated lobster buyers here at Big Bras d’Or’s Factory Wharf, the 22-year-old has faced the elements head-on since lobster fishing season opened here in mid-May. Her job description includes hauling a few thousand pounds of lobster, six days a week. She has not missed a day of work. Faulkner embraces it, getting down and dirty, hauling 100-pound crates from lobster boats to wharf, to scale and to the truck. “It’s not too bad,” she said. “It’s a good workout. But yeah, I’m pretty exhausted at the end of the day.” Read the rest here 10:43