Tag Archives: lobster fishers
Southeastern P.E.I. lobster fishers prep for spring setting day
Lobster fishers along P.E.I.’s southeastern coast voted to go back to their traditional spring start date this year, but they’re going to have to start early again. In 2023, for the first time, there were two opening days for P.E.I.’s spring lobster season. Setting day for boats on the Island’s South Shore came four days earlier than the traditional opening of April 30. Lobster Fishing Area 26A includes 365 boats from harbours along the southeastern coast of P.E.I., from Victoria up to Souris. The spring season for LFA 26A was supposed to open on Friday but has now been postponed until Saturday due to weather conditions. The change in dates in 2023 was proposed by the South Shore fishers for a couple of reasons, including avoiding the time of year when lobsters are in their reproductive stage. Photos, video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:49
How do you show a lobster some love? A Cape Breton researcher has plenty of ideas
Michelle Theriault, a marine biologist at Université Sainte-Anne, tells her students to heap loving care on lobsters destined to markets in Auckland and Athabasca – and everywhere in between. So, how do you dote on lobsters? I dropped in on one of Theriault’s Zoom classes for lobster exporters to get some answers to that question. And while she was narrow-casting her class from the University’s Marine Research Centre at Petit-de-Grat, Cape Breton, lobster fishers were headed to sea to dump their traps on the opening day of the winter season south of Halifax. >click to read< 16:22
Rising fuel, bait prices could eat into profit margins
Lobster fishers have had to contend with the rising costs of doing business for years, but this season presents a set of circumstances perhaps without compare. Fuel prices are higher than they’ve ever been on PEI and that will have a direct impact on fishers, especially the ones who sail further out from shore. Throw in rising bait prices driven by quotas and feeding predators, and insurance costs, and it could take a sizable big bite out of profit margins. “It’s going to be different from last year for sure. The cost of everything is going up,” said Naufrage lobster fisherman Lucas Lesperance. He hopes those pressures will create a strong price throughout the season. Mr Lesperance said seals are becoming more of a nuisance than ever, chowing down on bait species like herring and mackerel. A seal hunt would certainly help, he said. >click to read< 10:07
Letter: Lobster contracts remain a mystery. Lloyd Kerry, Charlottetown
Editor:
April showers bring Mayflowers; the fisherman’s mood sours. OK, I never said I was a poet, but I think the sentiment is true. All winter we’ve heard about meetings between the lobster fishers, the processors and the government, trying to solve the yearly price dilemma. The fishers aren’t making any money with the recent prices, and the processors say they aren’t making any. Read more here 17:00
