A typical winter: ‘It’s down pricewise and catches’

Lobster season heads into spring; southwestern N.S. well represented at Boston seafood show as spring lobster fishery ramps up

With winter in the rearview mirror, the fishing effort in the six-month commercial lobster fishery in southwestern Nova Scotia will soon start to increase again as the season counts down to the May 31 close.

“Overall, since the start of the season from today back, catches – based on last year – are down, the prices are down, compared to last year, but each year gets better and better,” says Mike Cotter, owner of Cotter's Ocean Products in Lockeport.

“If you look back two years ago, this year is better than two years ago, but not as good as last year," he says. "The catches were down in a lot of areas the first of the season, then they picked up a bit, then dropped off again. All and all for the fishermen, it's down price-wise and catches.”

This season opened with a $7 per pound shore price compared to a record-setting opening price for the 20212022 season of $11 a pound in Lobster Fishing Areas (LFAs) 33 and 34. The shore price increased to the $12 range in February, up from $9 to

$10 a pound in January, and is currently $13 to $13.50 a pound wharf side. The 20212022 season closed in the $10 range, peaking at $17.50 in late winter/early spring.

Cotter said the water temperatures got colder as March progressed.

“Three weeks ago it was in the 40s," he says, noting on the day of this interview it was 36 degrees on the bottom.

"When it's cold like that lobsters won't crawl. We've had a pretty good winter. It's been pretty open. It's a typical old-fashioned water temperature winter where the catches are low. Hopefully, the next couple of weeks when the sun crosses the line the catches should pick up again.”

Cotter said fishermen had been going fishing every chance they could go, but with the recent water temperatures they've only been going out every four or five days. "The price of fuel and bait, they can't afford to go every day and come in with 50 or 60 pounds of lobsters," he says.

The quality of the catch has been somewhat puzzling this year.

“Our ratio of culls (oneclawed lobsters) is the highest it's ever been in 40 years that I've been in the business. It's the highest I've ever seen it. I don't know what is the cause of that, bad weather, storms, hurricanes or what, but our ratio is as high as 20 percent, which is really high,” Cotter says.

By comparison, the shell and meat quality has been great.

"We've had less than two per cent soft shells but the culls have been very," he says.

Looking ahead to April for the fishery, Cotter thinks everything will depend on the weather and catches. “If the water warms up, it's got to warm up quite a bit, and the

catches have to come on… I don't think the price is going to change as quickly as the Chinese and everyone wants it to change, and I don't think it will happen until you see some landings.”

Commercial seasons in other LFAs around Atlantic Canada and Quebec will start to open in late April.

While there is not much inventory around, Cotter says he is still shipping to China but not as much as three weeks ago. “Things will change when April comes,” he says.

Meanwhile, seafood buyers and exporters from southwestern Nova Scotia were well represented at Seafood

Expo North America, held in Boston, Massachusetts, March 12-14.

“There were a lot of heavy hitters there,” says Natasha Brown, sales and logics manager for Fishermen's Premium Atlantic Lobster on Cape

Sable Island. “I think it was a really good turnout from our community this year, a lot of buyers from the Barrington area that weren't there last year. The Nova Scotia reception, there was a good turnout for that, so it was a really good event. Really strong.”

Brown estimated attendance tripled at this year's show, compared to last year when attendance was down 60 percent.

Brown says by attending the show, it connects local exporters and buyers with “a lot of substantial customers, especially from Europe and China."

"I find it helps," says Brown. "There are customers there you would already have in your clientele, but it's good to see them and have refresher meetings with them and meet face-to-face with them.”

As for this winter's lobster fishery, Brown suggests things have gone well.

“Every year since COVID has started has been unprecedented from the last. This year everything is going well. Everyone is getting rid of their tubed lobsters now so I think it's a good season for the most part for everybody. Even though catches are down there's less demand from the market,” she says, adding it's almost like things are averaging out.

In 2022, Canada exported over $8 billion worth of fish and seafood to 112 countries.

The United States remains Canada's largest export market, accounting for more than two-thirds of exports valued at $5.5 billion. Fish and seafood are among the largest single-food commodities exported by Canada. Canada's most valuable exports by species in 2021 were lobster, snow/queen crab and Atlantic salmon.