Tag Archives: Louisbourg Seafoods
Commercial whelk fishery opens in eastern Cape Breton
On Tuesday, an event at Louisbourg Seafoods processing plant ushered in the first commercial whelk fishery in waters along the island’s eastern coast. The Louisbourg, N.S., company began experimenting with the harvest of whelk more than a decade ago. “We have a science team and they spend all their time looking at this, and basically developed a clear understanding of what the fishery was out there and how best to manage it,” said Allan MacLean, Louisbourg Seafoods’ senior operations manager. The whelk fishery off eastern Cape Breton, in an area known as the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization Area 4Vs, was previously licensed only for exploratory harvesting to determine if stocks could sustain a commercially viable operation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said Tuesday in a news release. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 19:46
Price outlook diverges for Canada’s top 2 seafoods – Snow crab prices plunged by 60 % in 2022
Canada’s lobster industry is poised to claw its way out of a down year, say analysts, while unsold snow crab stuck in cold storage remains an anchor dragging on the bottom line. Snow crab sales sank and prices plunged 60 per cent in 2022, thanks in part to U.S. consumers who stayed away from luxury seafood as they were battered by inflation. Lobster also took a hit last year, with prices down 30 per cent. The value of Canadian live lobster exports dropped as well, but volumes actually ticked up slightly. Kelly Zhuang of World Link Food Distributors in Nova Scotia says 800 tonnes of live lobster is flown to China from Halifax and Moncton per week. And more charters are expected.>click to read< 13:55
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
Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq vie for licence in lucrative Arctic surf clam fishery
Thirteen Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq bands have announced they are partnering with Clearwater Seafoods to seek a licence in the lucrative Arctic surf clam fishery, following a recent call by Ottawa for new entrants in a sector currently fished by Clearwater alone. The announcement of the “operational partnership” was made Thursday by Chief Terrance Paul, co-chair of the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs. click here to read the story 13:39
Atlantic and Quebec Indigenous Groups and Ocean Choice International Partner in Bid for Arctic Surf Clam Quota – About the Partners – click here to read the OCI press release
Clearwater to build $54m clam factory vessel, but there could be some monopoly complications!
Clearwater Seafoods has announced plans to invest roughly CAD 70 million ($54m) in a new “state-of-the-art” factory vessel for its Canadian clam fleet. This investment follows the launch of the Belle Carnell in July 2015, which successfully allowed Clearwater to increase its catch of Arctic surf clams, cockle clams and propeller clams. The combined investments complete Clearwater’s plan to sustainably harvest 100% of its Canadian surf clam quota, employing the most advanced and proprietary clam technology in the world, it said. Read the story here Surf clam fight heats up with Clearwater boat buy – Presently, Clearwater is the only harvester of Arctic surf clam in Canada, and although it holds all of the current licences, it has not had the capacity to fish the entire 38,756-tonne quota. But Clearwater may not hold onto its monopoly for long. Following two days of science consultations in June, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans is in the process of making a decision on whether or not to increase the quota and open up the fishery to new entrants. Read the story here 20:47
Innovation competition seeks solutions in Nova Scotia’s seafood industry
Louisbourg Seafoods and Cape Breton University have teamed up to launch a competition that aims to crowdsource solutions to problems facing Nova Scotia’s billion-dollar fishing industry. The inaugural SEA++ competition, launched at CBU’s Verschuren Centre for Sustainability for Energy and the Environment last week, has placed more than $5,000 prize money up for grabs. Contestants have until Feb. 9 to register ideas capable of growing NS aquaculture, improving the efficiency, safety and sustainability of the province’s fixed and mobile fishing infrastructure; enhancing how well its fishing industry works at an enterprise level and also boosting its ability to develop and sell new products. Read the articles here 17:10
