Tag Archives: Lobster Fishing Area 24

Expect more temporary closures of P.E.I. lobster fishery, DFO says

Future in-season closures of the P.E.I. lobster fishery are not out of the question as more endangered right whales are spotted in shallow waters, says Fisheries and Oceans Canada. A portion of Lobster Fishing Area 24 was shut down in May after two right whales were spotted off P.E.I.’s north shore. It was the first time DFO had to close off that part of the area due to a whale sighting, and it meant lobster crews had to move their traps to shallower waters. It’s likely not the last time it will happen, said Brett Gilchrist, DFO’s director of national programs. Video, >click to read< 15:25

Fishing area closed after North Atlantic right whale sighting set to reopen this week

A lucrative lobster fishing area in the Maritimes is set to reopen this week after a sighting of North Atlantic right whales shuttered the fishery just weeks into the spring season. The endangered whales were spotted earlier this month in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, northeast of Prince Edward Island’s Malpeque and Cascumpec Bays. The sighting triggered a 15-day closure of popular lobster fishing grounds — part of Lobster Fishing Area 24. The federal Fisheries Department says the fishing area is set to reopen Friday. But it says two surveillance flights are required before the area reopens to fish harvesters to determine whether whales are still present.   >click to read< 13:32

‘Aggravation’ expected when part of lobster fishing area closes

Chris Wall is among those being asked by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to remove all their gear from a portion of lobster fishing area 24 before it closes on Tuesday at 5 p.m. due to the confirmed sighting of a North Atlantic right whale. “It will affect the bottom line because I think you’re going to find more people in a smaller area trying to catch the same amount of lobsters,” Wall said. “So … it will affect everybody. It’s just going to cause some aggravation, for sure.” Wall isn’t aware of any right whale ever getting caught in lobster fishing gear on P.E.I., he said. >click to read< 08:56

Spring lobster season now underway in P.E.I.

A crowd of spectators gathered at the end of the wharf in Northport Friday morning to watch as Alberton Harbours fleet of lobster boats set out under a clear sky and in calm conditions. Prince Edward Island’s spring lobster fishery opened at 6 o’clock after being delayed four times due to wind conditions. Close to 1,000 P.E.I. boats in Lobster Fishing Area 24, Prince Edawrd Island’s north shore, and LFA 26A, the southesastern end of Northumberland Strait, participate in the spring fishery. >Photo’s, click to read<11:18

P.E.I.’s Western Gulf fishermen excited about highest lobster numbers from survey

There will be more numbers presented at the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association’s annual meeting in Charlottetown next month, but Francis Morrissey just couldn’t wait that long to share a statistic from Lobster Fishing Area 24. Morrissey, president of the Western Gulf Fishermen’s Association, shared the result from a settlement survey conducted last summer during the group’s annual meeting in Alberton earlier this week. “It was the highest recruitment that was ever recorded any place in Canada or the United States,”,,, >click here to read< 09:10

P.E.I. lobster fishermen hope higher prices make up for lower catches

lobster-avery-1With prices currently at $6.50 for canners and $7 for markets, P.E.I. lobster fishermen are hoping to ride out a spring of bad weather and lower catches. “Prices have been fairly good, catches are down quite a bit and the weather has been just terrible,” said Craig Avery, president of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association, who stayed on shore Monday for the third time this season. “It’s been a tough, tough year. The price, whatever we’re getting for them, it’s well-earned,” he added. About a thousand Island fishermen are currently on the water, including 630 along the North Shore from North Cape to East Point and 340 on the south shore from East Point to Victoria, P.E.I.. Catches are down all along P.E.I.’s North Shore, called Lobster Fishing Area 24, according to what Avery is hearing. He fishes out of Northport, near Alberton, P.E.I., and estimates his catch will be down about 25 per cent from last season. Read the rest here 09:56