• Home
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Work with Me
    • Media Kit
    • Evolv Health: Valerie’s Story
    • Personal Stories
    • Press
    • Year in Review
  • Thermomix® Independent Consultant
    • Thermomix® Independent Consultant
    • Client Testimonials
    • Recipes Developed by Valerie
  • Projects
    • Cheesepalooza
      • Cheesepalooza Challenges
      • Cheesepalooza Participants
      • Preparation for Cheesepalooza!
      • Basic Ingredient and Supply List
      • Ingredient and Matierial Suppliers
    • Dueling Daughters Project 2014
    • Eat Alberta
    • Gramsy Glimpses
      • Gramsy Glimpses Vignettes
    • Project 2019: Valerie’s Personal Evolv Health Story
    • Project 2017: Cooking in the Kitchen With….
      • Completed Project 2017 Posts: Cooking in the Kitchen With….
      • Project 2017: Cooking in the Kitchen With… PARTICIPATE
      • Project 2017: Cooking in the Kitchen with….Schedule
    • Slow Food Edmonton Tastings
      • Participate!
    • The Canadian Food Experience Project
      • Participate!
      • Participants
      • Challenges and Round Ups
      • Canadian Food Heroes Series
  • Events
    • Baby Shower
    • Food Blogger Meetings
    • Promotions
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Reviews (Products, Books, and Events)
  • Philosophy
    • In a Nutshell
    • Local Produce/Producers
    • Slow Food
    • Teaching
  • Travel
    • Bosnia
    • British Columbia
    • California
    • Croatia
    • Culinary Tourism
    • Farmer’s Markets
    • France
    • Greece
    • Hawaii
    • Italy
    • Louisiana
    • Maritime Provinces
    • Massachusetts
    • Mexico
    • Montenegro
    • Nova Scotia
    • Prince Edward Island
    • Quebec
    • Serbia
    • United Kingdom
    • Utah
  • Trends
  • Store
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Policy for A Canadian Foodie
  • Valerie’s Image

A Canadian Foodie

Canadian Food Recipes; Preserving Canadian Food Practices

  • A La Carte
    • Appetizers
    • Drinks
    • Evolv Health Reboot Recipes
      • Reboot Phase 1 Mains
    • Garnishes
    • Salads
    • Sauces Dressings Rubs
    • Sides
    • Soups and Stocks
  • Breakfast & Brunch
  • Cheese
    • Blue/Stinky
    • Firm
    • Fresh
    • Hard/Pressed
    • Cheesepalooza Challenge
    • Cheesepalooza Round Up
  • Desserts
    • Cakes
    • Cookies, Bars and Squares
      • Christmas Cookies
    • Ice Cream, Sorbets and Frozen Yogurt
    • Icings/Frosting and Pastry Creams
    • Other
    • Pies and Tarts
    • Puddings
    • Sweets and Treats
  • Doughs and Crusts
    • Biscuits
    • Bread Buns and Flatbread
    • Crackers
    • Donuts, Frybreads and Such
    • Dumplings etc
    • Pasta
    • Pastry
  • Mains
    • Beef
    • Casseroles
    • Chicken/Duck/Goose/Turkey
    • Marinades and Rubs
    • Pasta Dishes
    • Pork
    • Potluck
    • Savory Pies Pastries
    • Seafood and Fish
    • Stews
    • Vegetarian
    • Veal
    • Wild Game
    • Wraps Pizzas Casual Food
  • Seasonal
    • Autumn
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Winter
    • Holiday
      • Christmas
  • Gardens
    • Foraging
    • My Garden and From My Garden
    • Preserves
    • Zone Three Harvest
  • Tastings
  • Kids
  • Canadian Food
    • Atlantic Provinces
    • Canadian Aboriginal Food
    • Canadian Berries
    • Canadian Cakes
    • Canadian Doughs
    • Canadian Drinks
    • Canadian Fish
    • Canadian Food Heroes
    • Canadian Food Main
    • Desserts
    • Grandma Maude’s Family Recipes
    • Mom Helen’s Famous Family Recipes
    • Canadian Products
    • Sunday Suppers
    • Wild Food

Cape Breton Lobster Fishermen in Dire Straits

June 10, 2014 by Valerie Lugonja Leave a Comment

June 9 2014: via CBC news this just in….

Cape Breton Lobster Fishermen in Dire Straits

Above, CBC photo: Louisbourg Seafood hopes to keep more than 1,000 crates of lobsters alive long enough to find a buyer. Remember, there are 100 pounds of lobster in each of those crates!

After posting our Lobster Fishing experience and the informational follow-up post about the Lobster Cars in Pubnico, one of my readers, Mira, asked a very interesting question: How long do they keep the lobsters in these crates? That was answered, at length, in the comments question of that post – and makes a very interesting read, unto itself as good questions usually do. Then, yesterday, the CBC news in Cape Breton reported this story about the lobster industry in Lousbourg, in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. We were just there last month, so this also hit home for me. (…soon to write about our Cape Breton travels)

When asked this question by Mira, I sought out the answers from Bernice: the price determines how long the lobster stay in the cars. When the price is between 4-6 a pound most fishermen sell that same day. A few years back the fishermen could not sell their lobster for a decent price, so they were kept in crates in the holding area in the lobster cars until there was a stable price. Some fishermen held them 5-6 weeks for a better price.

This is exactly what is happening right now in Cape Breton. There are risks when they do this:

  • The quality of the water in the dock is not good;
  • Some lobsters are weak and do not make it. In these cases, the fisherman looses.

As there is an incredible “supply glut” the lobster buyers in Cape Breton are doing whatever they can to keep thousands of lobsters alive until prices improve. When this happened in Pubnico in 2011-2012, the fishermen got together to try to open new markets and last year the price stablized.

Lobster fishermen families, and all fishermen families relate intimately to what is happening right now in Cape Breton. As Bernice says, “Nova Scotia fishermen [work very hard] trying to do a days work to be able to survive. They have no control on the price they will be getting and it is very hard to survive if this is your business.” Then she adds: “When all is well, it is very good, but it can change on a dime.” Right now, in Cape Breton, the prices have dropped to 4 dollars a pound.

The lobster fishermen in Cape Breton will still have the same expenses, regardless of the return: make payments, buy bait, pay the crew. And, it is hard to keep a crew member if there is no money to be made as crew members are usually paid by the money made from the catch.

RIGHT FROM THE CBC:

Many have dropped prices and imposed boat quotas on hundreds of Nova Scotia lobster fishermen from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Eastern Shore.

  • Lobster buyers impose ‘unheard of’ quotas on N.S. fishermen
  • Nova Scotia lobster fisheries shut down, some tied up in P.E.I.
  • Lobster price squabbles hurt industry

Effective Friday, Eastern Shore fishermen were told buyers will take no more than 500 pounds (227 kilograms) per day. Further east in Guysborough County, 400 other fishermen have a 600-pound (272-kilogram) limit. There are also quotas in the Gulf.  Warmer weather and big lobster landings in eastern Nova Scotia coincided with huge catches from the larger southwest Nova Scotia lobster fisher, [Pubnico, included, here] in the final week of their six-month season which ended May 31.

Jerry Amirault of the Lobster Processors Association says there’s just nowhere to put live lobster this week. “The system is clogged,” he said. The result has been a huge backlog of live lobsters. “Simply, that the catches have been overwhelming. Day after day of good fishing weather. Catches in some areas that have essentially doubled,” he said.

Please go to the article to read the remainder of the news there.

 
On a side note, and directly related to this article, as I have come home, people have commented consistently: “People in the Atlantic provinces are so passionate about their politics!” Well, this may be one good reason why. When upsets like this heppen in the fishing industry, the economy is hurt and the government then reviews its programs. Whenever there is a glut in the market like this, the area fisherman would like to see the lobster fishing season in the previous area (remember, there are seasonal boarders for fishing lobster throughout the province of Nova Scotia) end sooner so the market isn’t flooded.
 
Just as farming, out here in the prairies, it is extremely hard work, upkeep and expenses must be paid regardless of the price for the product. Some years are very lucrative for the lobster fishermen and some, like this season in Cape Breton, are very stressful.
 
And you may think: Great! I can buy fresh lobster for cheap! Living in that area, 90% of their lobster is sold to the US. They catch far too much to sell locally and depend up on the foreign market. It is extremely difficult for local restaurants and suppliers to have access to this local lobster for that very reason. And, few would even go to the wharf to buy at such low prices as so many are connected directly with those in the industry.
 
How does it affect us in the West? Well, the lobster are on hold. They are not going anywhere until the prices rise, and we, in the West don’t buy much lobster. Their market is the East Coast USA. All in all, sad news.
Tweet6
Pin
Share
6 Shares

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Cape Breton

About Valerie Lugonja

Like what you see? SUBSCRIBE TO A CANADIAN FOODIE
Educator, Writer, Gardener and Traveler who believes in buying and eating locally, and most importantly cooking at home! As a brand new Gramsy, so be prepared to hear a lot about this new role in her life!
Please connect with Valerie to buy a Thermomix Machine!

« Pubnico Heritage Recipe: Fisherman Steamed Lobster
Dinner at Red Cap Restaurant and Rappie Pie »

You might also enjoy...

Macaron au Chocolat with Béné
Waldorf Salad: Recipes for Beginners
Range Road 135 Dinner at Nature’s Green Acres: July 23, 2011
Red Iguana: Classic Mexican Restaurant in Salt Lake City
Slow Food Edmonton Solstice Supper 2010

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search

Thermomix® Independent Consultant; Executive Team Lead Alberta

Weekly Newsletter

Saturday Morning News

More Thermomix Recipes etc »

The Best Ever Homemade Tomato Sauce: Healthy and Tasty

More ACF Famous Recipes or Specialties»

To-Die-For Homemade Mincemeat Ice Cream

More Winter Recipes »

Homemade Pastry with Homemade Rendered Pastry Lard and Roly-Poly!

More Recipes from my mom Helen »

Connect With Me!

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
projects

My Post Archives

Come On In And Kiss the Cook

Educator, Writer, Gardener and Traveler who believes in buying and eating locally, and most importantly cooking at home! [Read More …]

Connect With Me

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Homemade Granola: My Canadian Alberta Prairie in a Bowl

More Canadian Recipes »

Lifetime Achievement Award

Canadian Web Blog Award 2013 www.acanadianfoodie.com FIRST

Vote-for-me
Best in Food NEW
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No feed found.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.

Copyright © 2025 · Website by PoundPig