Lobster Fishery

NS: Lobster fishermen anxious about start of season
By John Lewandowski, The Canadian Press

Source: The Canadian Press, November 17, 2010

[LOWER ARGYLE, NS] — Uncertainty tempers Ashton Spinney’s hopes as the Lower Argyle fisherman prepares his boat and traps for the opening of the fall lobster season, usually the year’s most profitable.

As catches rise, earnings have dropped.

“We just can’t face what we have the past two years,” said Spinney of the diminished returns fishermen in Atlantic Canada have reaped on the price of their catch. “There’s not enough margin to keep us going.”

In much of Nova Scotia, the year’s most lucrative fishery gets underway on the last Monday of November. Spinney will be joined by almost 1,800 other fishermen out of ports from Halifax to Digby to begin hauling a catch that was worth more than $400 million to the province in 2008, the latest figure available.

“When we came ashore for the first time last year buyers were offering $3.75 a pound and we told them to forget it if it was anything under $4,” he said. “That kind of return doesn’t pay for your gas and you’re always dipping into your savings to pay for things.”

Given the state of the economy, the decline in discretionary spending and the Canadian dollar’s move towards parity with the U.S. greenback, buyers say there’s not a lot they can do to alleviate the situation.

Denny Morrow, executive director of the Nova Scotia Fish Packers Association, says supply and demand also comes into play.

“Landings have been up over the past 10 years and that would tell you that, at least in the short term, more lobster on the market means lower prices,” he said. “Because 75 per cent of the catch goes to the U.S. we’ve also taken a pounding because of the exchange rate.”

Morrow said that about five years ago the dollar differential allowed them to sell lobsters in the U.S., pay fishermen $5.50 to $6 a pound and still realize a healthy margin.

He said the economy appears to be recovering but it’s still far from robust.

“It’s a last-minute guessing game where prices will be this year, but I certainly don’t see us returning to the wharf prices we had four or five years ago.”

In New Brunswick the first haul of the fall season has left fishermen feeling a little more upbeat than in recent years. Catches have been good and the price is higher — at least in the early going.

“Last year it started at $3.75 a pound and right now it’s between $4.25 and $4.75,” said Maria Recchia, executive director of the Fundy North Fishermen’s Association. “No one’s complaining about price so that’s good, but it is still kind of early.”

She said the price generally tends to drop a bit when the southwestern Nova Scotia lobster fishery opens.

The federal government has jumped into the fray, recently announcing a five-year, $65 million program aimed at helping fishermen adjust to the collapse in prices and build a more sustainable industry.

Ottawa is also trying to negotiate a deal with the European Union to try to soften the impact of a 25 per cent tariff on processed lobster products.