Lobster fishermen feel pinch of low prices, rising costs

Bad weather, rising costs and a sharp drop in price caused by a weakened U.S. dollar are leaving fishermen apprehensive at the start of the New Brunswick lobster season, which opened on November 13. Catches, though, are picking up now that the winds have died down.

"It's not starting off to be a great season," comments Larry Newman of Newman Enterprises Ltd. on Campobello Island. The weather "has been horrible" and the price "is horrendous," reports Laurence Cook, a lobster fishermen from Seal Cove, Grand Manan, who is chairman of the Lobster Sector of the Grand Manan Fishermen's Association.

Cook notes that fishermen are getting squeezed, since their costs for everything from fuel and trap wire to labor are high. The catch during the first part of the season is good enough so that fishermen can afford those costs, but when catches drop they won't be able to continue to fish. Most fishermen around Grand Manan fished during the entire season to the end of June last year, but if the price doesn't come back up, "the winter fishery will be over," says Cook. Although some may be able to drag for scallops, if they have the licenses, for others "it could be a tough winter," he points out. "It will have a large impact on the economy.

After fishermen pay for fuel and bait and gear, "it will mean a tight margin for fishermen," agrees Stuart McKay, manager of Paturel International's operations on Deer Island. He notes that all industries in Atlantic Canada are feeling the pinch, as most of them export into the U.S. He expects that fishermen in Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 36, which extends from the New Brunswick-Maine border out to the middle of the Bay of Fundy, will fish until the season closes the second week of January. Those fishermen who can fish until the end of June C in LFA 38, which surrounds Grand Manan, and in Nova Scotia C may tie up their boats if they can't cover their costs with the amount they're receiving for their catches this winter, he speculates.

McKay says the price is fairly stable at $4.25 (Cdn.) a pound. Last year the price started at $5.25. The drop in price is caused both by the change in the exchange rate with the U.S. dollar, and by the market not being that strong. Larry Newman notes that dealers like him who sell much of their product into the U.S. have lost 20% on the exchange rate. Last year the U.S. dollar was worth $1.17 to the Canadian dollar, and now it is worth 97 cents.

McKay reports that catches around Grand Manan have been about the same as last year, while landings along the mainland have been spotty, Campobello has been down and Deer Island has been down slightly. He reports that landings have been gaining ground this week. The quality has been very good, he says, although Grand Manan landings have had 10% to 20% soft-shell lobsters, which is about the same as last year.

Although catches may be down a bit around Grand Manan, Cook says that may be because traps don't fish as well with heavy seas and it's been harder for fishermen to haul their gear. During the first week of the season there were steady 30-knot winds, and most fishermen around the island couldn't fish one day and part of another day.