low prices, high costs: p.e.i. lobster industry voices concerns about spring season
3 minute read
lobster is going for just north of $8 a pound, says fisher timothy wall. he says he would like to see that increase to $10 a pound, to help offset the costs of rising bait, gas and wages.
kristin gardiner
/
journal pioneer
malpeque, p.e.i. — since the lobster season began in late april, some fishers are voicing concerns with the low price of lobster, while costs like bait and gas are rising. all that is added to dealing with missing days out on the water due to the weather.
“it’s been a lot more challenging than maybe some folks realize,” said ian macpherson, executive director of the p.e.i. fisherman’s association, in an interview with the journal pioneer on june 8.
macpherson added that before the spring fishery began, there had been some cautious optimism that the season would be a good one. the may wind and cold temperatures, however, made the first month a bit of a struggle.
the weather had started to warm as of early june, which macpherson said he hopes will improve the season.
but the no. 1 struggle on fishers’ minds, he said, is financial.
“if you’ve got a payment coming up at the end of the season, you need to make that payment, or things start to happen in a negative way,” said macpherson, “and we don’t want those scenarios happening.”
fishing boats docked at the malpeque harbour.
kristin gardiner
/
journal pioneer
government support
in early june, macpherson was in ottawa to meet with ministers to discuss adopting programs to help support fishers during challenging seasons such as this one.
“this is something we’re putting a lot of focus on,” he said.
“it’s something we want to carry to fruition for the benefit of our membership. i think it’s a good ask, and it’s investing in our future.”
timothy wall, who fishes out of the malpeque harbour, said he’s getting around just north of $8 a pound for lobster. fishers elsewhere in the maritimes, he said, are selling for a dollar or two more. considering he’s noticed an increase in costs, it’s putting a strain on him and other fishers.
wall said he would like to see island fishers get paid $10 a pound, as well.
“the last few years have been terrible,” he said.
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“just, the prices have just not kept up with the expenses. gas and bait and crew. everything else is just gone through the roof, and lobster prices are kind of half stagnating … everything’s getting squeezed more, this year than last years.”
wall has worked in the industry since graduating high school in the mid 1990s. he said that this spring, prices of lobster are at the top of minds and conversations of many fishers.
canners and markets
wall has also mentioned that he has been selling a lot of canners, which are the smaller lobsters and don’t pay as much. other areas, like cape breton in nova scotia, said wall, do have canners, but they have more larger ones, known as markets, as well.
“north shore tends to have a lot more canners than the big markets,” said wall. “canners are processed, they’re not sold on the live market.”
lobster fisher timothy wall said that this lobster season has been a challenge, due to low prices, rising costs and fewer days out on the water. kristin gardiner
journal pioneer
in addition to the struggle with the prices, the fishing season itself hasn’t been going as well as previous years, with fewer opportunities to go out on the water, and not every day on the boat is a good day. if it’s cold, he said, there might not be enough lobster available to catch.
“the weather’s been terrible this year,” he said. “it’s been cold … i think we’ve had one week this season where we’ve been able to fish the whole week. we’ve missed a lot of days due to weather.”
transportation issues
one thing wall would like to see that could help fishers, he said, would be a better export hub in charlottetown, where lobsters can be shipped directly to the buyers in a faster and more straightforward manner, cutting down on transportation and related expenses.
“i’m not sure the costs behind that, but i think that’s a factor that’s depressing the price, too.”
despite the challenges, fishing is something wall does because he enjoys it, and he said the same goes for many of his colleagues.
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“welcome to fishing,” he said.
“you hope you get a good year and a good price, and a lot of times, that’s not the case. but you just put your head down and truck on through and hope you got enough to pay your bills and put food in your belly.”
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kristin gardiner is a reporter for the journal pioneer in prince edward island. she can be reached at kgardiner@postmedia.com.
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