High winds delayed start of lobster fishery

High winds once again forced a delay in the opening of the commercial lobster fishery in southwestern Nova Scotia and along the province's south shore in both LFAs 33 and 34.

The season did not open as scheduled on Monday, Nov. 29 – the traditional ‘last Monday of November' opening day. Due to the forecast, it was decided during a Sunday industry conference call that things would also be a no-go for Tuesday, Nov. 30, as the industry continued to focus on when the boats would get out. Safety is always the paramount concern.

Industry conference calls in the fishing districts started last week between port reps and DFO to discuss the marine forecasts. On Sunday, the forecast called for strong winds with a gale warning in effect for Monday. The wind was forecasted to increase to 35 knots during the day.

In LFA 34 there is a DFO/ industry opening day protocol in place that states winds above 26 knots will automatically trigger a delay for dumping day. Again, this is in the interest of safety as boats are heavily loaded with traps and gear on the opening day of the season.

Last year the season had been scheduled to open on Nov. 30 but strong winds pushed the opening of the LFA 34 six-month season back to Dec. 8. The year before, in 2019, the season in LFA 34 came close to opening on the last Monday of November. It was delayed by one day and one hour. The longest weather delay prior to that occurred in 2014 when the weather forced a six-day delay to dumping day.

This year DFO had agreed to a two-day flexibility for opening day, allowing the season to open up to one or two days early if the weather forecast was poor for Monday. However, Saturday and Sunday did not provide favourable weather windows because of the wind.

As this issue of the Vanguard went to press before the boats were able to set their traps on dumping day, you can visit our website Saltwire.com for coverage of the opening of the season.