Lobster fishery underway after lengthy delay
YARMOUTH — It was nine days later than originally scheduled but the start of the lobster season off southwestern Nova Scotia finally got underway Tuesday
Boats in lobster fishing area 34 — which includes all of Yarmouth County and parts of Digby and Shelburne counties — were permitted to head to the fishing grounds at 4 a.m., which was an earlier start than a traditional season opening.
Under favourable weather conditions the season normally opens the last Monday of November at 6 a.m. However, strong winds, gale warnings and messy seas saw the opening postponed repeatedly.
The wind was relatively light as the boats departed for the fishing grounds on Tuesday morning. There are 978 licences in this commercial fishery.
Because boats are loaded with traps and gear on the opening day — referred to as dumping day — safety is a top priority. Boats are permitted to set 375 traps. Many will do this in one trip, others in two.
Given the prolonged season delay, fishers were eager to head to the water. The first few weeks of the season in December tend to be the most profitable — depending on shore price — due to market demand for Christmas and New Year’s. How the COVID-19 pandemic may impact sales remains to be seen.
Never in recent decades has the weather pushed back the start of a season this far into December.
According to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, there were very few problems in the opening hours of the season, with only one incident considered serious.
“There was one issue that we had this morning with regards to a vessel that did have an issue with a fire onboard,” said Brian Owens, senior public affairs officer for the rescue centre, during a noon-hour interview. “It was serious enough that the crew decided to abandon their vessel but there was another vessel right next to them. Basically, they jumped off their boat into the water in their emergent suits and were immediately picked up by the other vessel.”
Another vessel towed the boat back to shore. Owens did not have other specifics on the incident.
“In total, we’ve only had about eight calls where we consider them to be cases, but in all those cases they were all mechanical related — alternator issues, steering issues.”
There were a lot of coast guard and military assets stationed or on standby in the region to provide assistance if things went wrong.
“But so far it’s been pretty quiet (in the opening hours). We haven’t had to dispatch any air assets, so that’s been good,” said Owens. “It just demonstrates all of the years of trying to make sure that fishers have all of the right gear and equipment on board. It shows that these are professionals and they’re doing what they need to do to stay safe. It’s a good sign that we’re not busy.”
The LFA 34 season runs until May 31.
The LFA 33 fishing district, which did open on Nov. 30, operates the same six-month season. That district extends from Baccoro Point in Shelburne County to Eastern Passage in Halifax County along the province’s south shore.
But although the season opened as scheduled, weather-wise it has been anything but smooth sailing during the first week. After the opening, gale force winds kept most boats ashore until Dec. 2, and then there were also gale warnings this past weekend and into Monday.
The first day of landings in LFA 33 were down about 35 per cent compared to the first day last year. However, said Lockeport lobster buyer Mike Cotter of Cotter’s Ocean Products, last year was such a good year, and the weather has been so bad this year, that it is hard to gauge what that meant.
“From talking to the boats, I think the lobster are there. I think they’ll catch them once we get the weather,” Cotter said.
The season opened with an $8 shore price in LFA 33.
SEASON OUTLOOK
Until LFA 34 opened, it was too early to say how the live lobster markets will shape up over the holiday season, Cotter added.
“Once LFA 34 opens up, that will set the tone of what’s going to go on Christmas time price-wise. Once it’s all open, we will know better. I think there’s a little demand, there always is this time of year, but not as great as other years. We’re in a whole different world this year.”
Again, potential impacts from the COVID pandemic weigh heavy.
“We all know what we went through since last March. We need to take it with a grain of salt,” said Cotter. “We’re still able to buy lobster, we’re still able to ship lobsters and we have employees, which is a bonus.”
Leo Muise, executive director of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance, described the LFA 33-34 commercial lobster seasons as being off to a precarious start.
“The entire situation is unprecedented. We have had day after day of high winds and/or stormy seas and none of this is in the least favourable to the successful start of a really important fishery,” he said.
“LFA 33 represents about one-third of the normal Southwest Nova catch ... Due to the weather it is almost impossible to obtain a true assessment of the eventual landings,” he said Monday before the LFA 34 season had opened.
“The current price of $8 per pound being paid wharf side does not reflect the reality of what the market will support long term and will need to be adjusted as supply increases after LFA 34 opens,” he noted. “Also, if there are further COVID-19 restrictions, shutdowns or significant events in any of our markets, the values will be adjusted accordingly.”
Muise cautioned the international market is greatly diminished during the pandemic.
“European and American demand, in particular, is drastically reduced, while demand from the Pacific Rim continues, but at extremely price sensitive levels,” he said. “Further, the air freight logistics from Halifax to the international market are considerably reduced due to the lack of commercial flights and the limitations of some charters. The key export period is from Dec. 12 to 27 and we are hopeful that more air freight ‘lift’ will become available.”