Tag Archives: Lobster Processors Association
P.E.I. lobster harvesters seeing low prices despite strong catches
With only a few weeks left in lobster season on Prince Edward Island, fishers are seeing lower prices. New London, P.E.I., lobster harvester Peter Pidgeon said harvesters were hearing about the big prices in Nova Scotia and getting excited for the season. He said prices are currently sitting a little lower. “This year it’s a little lower. We’re at $6.25 a pound and $6.50 a pound right now.” Nat Richard, the executive director of the Lobster Processors Association, said the association is in the midst of the largest catch year ever in Canada. “The cost to hold inventory just went through the roof. That’s always a concern when you have an imbalance in terms of the supply and demand picture and that’s very much what we are dealing with this year,” he said. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:32
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
East Coast lobster harvest sustainable, according to non-profit’s criteria — but a Seafood Watch report advises consumers to avoid it
A recent report by a California-based seafood assessment group has the East Coast lobster industry seeing red. While Seafood Watch has put lobster on its “red list” and recommend consumers avoid it, lobster fisheries in most areas of Atlantic Canada have been certified sustainable by another group that has significant credentials in the business of seafood accreditation. In existence for about 25 years, the Marine Stewardship Council is a global non-profit organization that works to end overfishing around the world. Catherine Pigeon-Dubeau, fisheries and commercial manager for MSC in Eastern Canada, said the last review of the East Coast lobster fishery was in July of this year, and the Blue Label certification remains in place. >click to read< 14:10
Feds delay Snow Crab season in Gulf of St. Lawrence
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans said the decision on Thursday to pause the season will let everyone involved in the fishery to put necessary health and safety measures in place. Seafood processors in the Maritimes had called on Ottawa to delay the crab and lobster season, warning that moving ahead with fishing risks workers’ health — and the bottom line — amid the COVID-19 pandemic.,, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs said Thursday the province hopes Fisheries and Oceans Canada will delay the spring season for a few weeks, with the possibility of federal compensation. The Maritime Fishermen’s Union, which represents 1,200 harvesters in New Brunswick, said Friday they support a delay of the lobster season until May 15 >click to read< 16:28
Louisbourg Seafood hopes to keep more than 1,000 crates of lobsters alive long enough to find buyer
Responding to a supply glut, lobster buyers are doing whatever they can to keep thousands of lobsters alive until prices improve. Many have dropped prices and imposed boat quotas on hundreds of Nova Scotia lobster fishermen from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Eastern Shore. Read more here 19:33
