YOU SAID IT
“There seems to be a need to distinguish the Canadian lobster as the No. 1 lobster in the world.” Sen. Fabian Manning, chairman of standing committee on fisheries and oceans,
SYDNEY — A Senate committee is studying the state of the lobster fishery in Atlantic Canada and Quebec.
Sen. Fabian Manning, the chairman of the standing committee on fisheries and oceans, said it started out well aware of concerns throughout the lobster fishery about the prices paid to fishermen.
“There has been a major concern raised in the last year or two, especially last year I think, with the drop in prices,” said Manning, who is from Newfoundland and Labrador.
“It is a very, very lucrative industry in relation to the dollar value. Just making sure everybody reaps the benefits of the industry is a basic part of our study.
“And to try to find what people believe are the challenges in the industry and see if we can provide some opportunity to address some of those challenges and make some recommendations to the ( federal fisheries minister) and the department on how to address those.”
Senators on the committee have already heard from many representatives throughout the lobster fishery, including Cheticamp fisherman Leonard LeBlanc, who is president of the Lobster Council of Canada.
The council has been working on a number of issues, ranging from greater brand recognition to the emerging issue of being able to trace lobster from where they were caught to the marketplace and to demonstrate they are from a sustainable fishery.
“There seems to be a need to distinguish the Canadian lobster as the No. 1 lobster in the world,” said Manning. “We all believe it is but maybe we are a bit slack on making that known to the rest of the world.”
Fishermen’s organizations, provincial and federal government departments, First Nations, unions and market analysts appeared before the committee last week in Moncton, N.B.
The committee could wrap up hearings before the new year and have recommendations ready for the fisheries minister by March, he said.