Uncertainty and challenges face the Atlantic Canadian commercial lobster fishery as the seasons open across the region this spring.
“Catches so far this spring have been iffy. We’ve been dealing with colder than normal water temperatures and a lot of fishermen have not put their gear back in the water in LFA (lobster fishing area) 33 and 34 yet. They will in the next week or two, but until we see a better sign of lobsters, I think inventory is going to be very tight,” said Stewart Lamont, managing director of the Tangier Lobster Company in an interview on March 19.
The three LFAs along Nova Scotia’s eastern shore opened on April 19, including LFA 31A.
“Based on requests received from stakeholders and discussed during the LFA 31A Advisory Committee, the season dates for LFA 31A have been shifted to open and close 10 days earlier in 2025 on an interim basis,” said Deborah Buott-Matheson, Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) communications.
The 31A season start and close dates were changed from April 29 to June 30 to April 19 to June 20, the same as LFA 31B and 32.
“This pilot is being enacted as a reasonable climate change adaptability measure and will result in no net loss or gain on the season length. This is an interim measure for this year only which will be evaluated following the season. The Department will consult with stakeholders and rights holders over the coming months on requests received to explore a shift in season dates for other areas in 2026,” said Buott-Matheson, adding stock status for all Eastern Nova Scotia LFAs indicate that the stocks are in the healthy zone.
With LFAs in the Gulf also scheduled to open a few days earlier this year, “more of the production this spring will be front end loaded,” said Lamont. “More seasons are looking to start earlier and frankly I’m not sure where all the lobsters will go,” given the 25 per cent Chinese tariff on Canadian seafood that went into effect March 20 and the threat of tariffs from the U.S.
Lamont said he has to assume the Chinese tariff will impact sales but that is an unknown.
“As with every other year, prices will trend downward” as the spring lobster fishery ramps up. “We will see if we can get the prices to where China will buy, but as we move forward, they don’t want any product at the current price with an additional 25 per cent tariff. China wanted every lobster we could provide before the tariff was imposed,” with the last shipments going out as late as March 17 to arrive on March 19.
“Moving forward, it’s becoming very apparent to them the tariff will make the cost of Canadian lobster less competitive in their market. I told one client it wasn’t my idea, your government imposed the tariff,” said Lamont.
As March was winding down, the shore price in LFAs 33 and 34 remained in the $15/pound range. Lamont said throughout the winter fishery, quality has been an issue.
“I would say mortality industry wide is double or triple what it was a year ago. We are seeing some improvement but not significant. These are not storable lobsters yet. These are not lobsters for holding. They are hot potatoes. I’ve been doing this for 44 years and I’ve never seen the quality we had this winter.”
The industry also has the threat of tariffs from the U.S. to contend with. April 2 was the latest date for the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff in the on again, off again threat by the U.S. president.
Lamont said it looks like the shore price this spring will be a “day to day proposition. I think many companies are looking at significant diversification.”
The Atlantic Canada seafood industry was well represented at Seafood Expo North America in Boston on March 16 to 18.
“I’m hearing it was upbeat. People were trying to make the best out of a very difficult situation. Some of the American customers are saying the tariffs are entirely a Canadian concern and others are fully understanding where we are and will try to work with us,” said Lamont.
Geoff Irvine, executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada, was one of the exhibitors at the show. “Most buyers are nervous about tariff impacts and potential recession fears due to the uncertainty they are causing,” said Irvine.
“However, inventory of live lobster and most frozen is where it should be at this time of year and demand seems to be steady, so it will all likely come down to pricing to make sure that product moves through the market this spring.”
