The six-month commercial lobster fishery in lobster fishing areas (LFAs) 33 and 34 wrapped up on May 31 to little fanfare.
Low shore prices and landings, quality issues early in the season, higher bait and fuel expenses, colder than normal water temperatures and foul weather plagued fishermen for much of the season.
The season closed with a $9/pound shore price, only slightly higher than the opening price of $8.25 to $8.50. The price peaked in February and March at $16 to $17.
“The price was down at the start. We did have some quality and yield issues. That improved as the season went on and now, we’re into the spring lobsters and the quality is great. It looks like our catch rates are going to be down again this year. LFA 33 and 34 are big areas. There are pockets where some are doing better, some are not. I think when we look at the overall trend once we get these numbers in, we’re going to see we’re going to be down,” said Dan Fleck, executive director of the Brazil Rock 33/34 Lobster Association.
On the shoreside, the season had its ups and downs, said Kris Vascotto, executive director of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance.
When the season began, “we had real challenges matching product with the market channels we were trying to put the product into and we also had some fairly staggered landings coming in. Some areas were doing quite well. Others were a little patchier. At the same time, the markets were heavily driven by the global turmoil, which created instability,” said Vascotto.
“The processing sector was responsible for helping the industry early on. We haven’t seen the processing sector active until January for a number of years. This year only a small portion of the early catch was suitable for shipping overseas. That meant a lot of product was suitable for the processing sector. Thankfully they were open and able to do it,” Vascotto added.
“What was new this year, we had a lot of interest coming in from China in early January, largely in relation to the Vietnamese spiny lobster aquaculture sector that was severely impacted by a typhoon last fall, so it went from low demand in China to a healthy demand. We were able to sustain that through the winter months. Then the tariff relief came into play in early March. That tariff relief didn’t translate into a major bump. There was a slight bump associated with it. We’re expecting to see that manifest itself as the year goes on,” Vascotto said.
Landings were pretty slow all the way through into the spring in LFA 33 and 34 which “wasn’t necessarily a bad thing from the shore perspective because we had other LFAs opened up a week to 10 days earlier and what that did was change the supply matrix considerably,” said Vascotto.
As the season was winding down, catches were picking up in LFA 33 and 34 as the weather and water warmed up. “Coming into the end of May, the quality of the lobster is what we wished we saw at the beginning of December. These are hard shell, fully-meated, perfect for shipping around the world to discerning customers everywhere. At this point we’re just watching inventory build up as we come to end of the season, grading it out and to market over the next four to six months or so as we get ready for the next season,” said Vascotto.
“What’s interesting is the U.S. has been very strong for our market. Their fishery has been really slow this year. We have every LFA open under the sun here in Nova Scotia. They’ve been able to take a fair amount of product and move it down there. The U.S. market has been responsible for taking a lot of product over the last month, month and a half, and we’ve been able to keep inventory at a manageable level. When it comes to lobster, it’s always a question of supply and demand. It’s been remarkably well balanced. There are no oversupply scenarios right now, so from a 33/34 perspective, it’s actually been a pretty good spring,” Vascotto added.
When it comes to the shore price, “on the harvesters side you always want to see more money. The shoreside would like to see higher value going into the market. We’ve been really challenged on the market side. Global economic turmoil. Pressure from the customers and from the harvesters who say they can’t fish unless they get a certain price. The shoreside sector gets caught in between the two. There have been some real challenges. Not being able to procure product for what the market is willing to pay. That’s been sorting itself out a bit. What we’re going to start seeing now as the processing sector begins picking up steam, that price point is going to get hardened up,” Vascotto said.
On May 14, a total of $2,150,000, through the Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI), was announced by South Shore-St. Margarets MP Jessica Fancy to support four Shelburne County lobster processors to modernize operations, adopt new technologies, expand capacity, and improve processes, helping strengthen productivity, supply chains and market reach.
Hailmar Fisheries Limited in Osborne Harbour received $750,000 to modernize its storage capabilities for both live lobster and frozen products. Hailmar will increase its holding capacity for live lobster, expand to new product lines and new markets, and refocus on other finfish species. Hailmar Fisheries employs 20 people and will create five new jobs.
Atlantic Coast (AC) Live Lobster Incorporated on Cape Sable Island (C.S.I.) received $700,000 to develop and execute a strategy to diversify and expand markets. The company will add solar panels to reduce operating expenses, expand its season and remain competitive. AC Live Lobster Inc. employs 35 people and will create 10 new positions.
Fishermen’s Premium Atlantic Lobster Incorporated, also on C.S.I., received $650,000 to execute a multi-year global marketing and product diversification strategy. The company will also develop a premium line of value-added frozen seafood products for international markets, while expanding its presence at major seafood exhibitions worldwide. Fishermen’s Premium Atlantic Lobster Inc. employs 16 people and is expected to create three jobs.
The Xsealent Seafood Company, Clark’s Harbour, C.S.I., received $50,000 diversify its market and pursue new opportunities. The company has 32 employees.
LFA 33 fishermen also got some good news as the season was winding down. On May 21, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Minister Joanne Thompson announced that lobster harvesters in LFA 33 will be able to keep Jonah crab, brought up in their lobster pots as bycatch, as an alternate source of bait, starting next season.
Until now, the retention of Jonah crab as bait was not allowed due to the presence of a directed Jonah crab fishery in the LFA. Based on historic landings, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has now determined that allowing harvesters in LFA 33 to keep Jonah crab as bycatch will not negatively impact the stock, nor the commercial Jonah crab fishery. The use of Jonah crab as bait has been in practice for many years in LFAs 34 through 38. LFA 33 harvesters will follow the same management measures that harvesters in LFAs 34 to 38 follow: only male Jonah crabs with a carapace width of 130mm or more can be retained for bait and sale is prohibited. A review will take place after three seasons to assess the sustainability of this approach.
The decision is “huge,” said Fleck. “It’s very big. The cost of bait is going up all the time and is increasingly hard to locate. It will save them money.”
Fleck said LFA 33 captains “have been asking for the authorization to catch, retain and use Jonah crabs for bait in their lobster traps for many years. Earlier this year, Brazil Rock put together an in-depth, written proposal to their request” working with DFO and the Southwest Lobster Science Society to bring the issue to a successful conclusion.
According to preliminary statistics from DFO, for the 2024–2025 commercial lobster season in LFA 33, 7,179 metric tonnes (MT) of lobster were landed, valued at $175 million. In LFA 34, 14,742 MT of lobster were caught, with a landed value of $349 million.
In 2024, the total landed value for all lobster fisheries in Nova Scotia was $961.9 million.
