With the rising spring season catch, prices of Canada lobster are plummeting. The availability of the seafood commodity has increased of late as Newfoundland and Nova Scotia start the spring crustacean season. The reigning price per pound stands at $10.42.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By and large, there has also been a halt in direct buying from producers in the first week of May in Newfoundland. This is the second such stoppage in the past seven days due to strike-imposed prevention of direct buying. Now, the provincial union of fisheries (FFAW<\/a>) wants the state\u2019s authorities to intervene and allow buyers from outside the province to access lobsters directly from the fishermen to prevent losses.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other side, Quebec\u2019s\u00a0 famous lobster season is in headway and the alphanumeric coding <\/a>system, which makes the delectable catches traceable by consumers, is back. Below is a look at the most recent developments:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Related: Comprehensive market insights on Canada lobsters<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Current Developments coinciding with Canada lobster season<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Canada lobster\u2019s high season starts in spring, from late April and early May in provinces lying on the eastern part of the country, along the Atlantic coastline. Nova Scotia\u2019s South Shore <\/a>season was locked by early winter from November. Other regions with great catches include New Brunskwick and Quebec, the latter on the Saint Lawrence river basin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Quebec, the spring season kick-started on the last Saturday of April of the year, and like always, it began flamboyantly in the Gaspe Peninsula.<\/a> Lucky buyers of the earliest Canada lobster harvests from this largest of Canada\u2019s provinces were the first to sample identity tags known as alpha numerals on their favorite seafood. Gaspe and Anticosti Island<\/a> lobsters account for a sizable percentage of all catches by 1500 harvesters from Quebec. These crustaceans feature the codes and thus pass as genuine for the lobster lovers who buy them annually.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n In New Brunswick, the season began in late April in a rush of activity. Tens of boats steamed off the coastline on the last Sunday of the month, with some beginning their short voyages earlier than the usual six o\u2019clock<\/a> fixture. The flurry of activity was not enjoyed however in some areas of this province because of strong winds.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spring-Summer prices of Canada lobster<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Price swings are expected this early spring and the swings are being associated with weather conditions, demand in North America as well as Asia and the overall production size. Reports show that as the May fishing season dawns, wholesale prices are down by 19 percent<\/a> in the US and Canada as renewed supply buffers foregoing high prices. Nevertheless, the cost of frozen Canada lobster still remains intact until further changes visit upon the market and bring the prices down.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n You may also want to read these insightful daily updates on the price of Canada lobster<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Processor prices upset lobster fishermen in P.E.I.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) is one of the areas not enjoying the perk price of $10.42 for a pound for their Canada lobster. This is partly because the neighboring Nova Scotia is already upping its supplies at the start of the season. P.E.I.’s fishing folk call the current offer by processing plants of up to $7 a \u2018slap in the face<\/a>.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n The island prides itself in its lobster catches from the 24 and 26A fishing jurisdictions, which started their activity late last month and are now in top gear in May. Harvesters here contrast the difficulty of netting the live seafood from the icy waters, itself a discouraging factor for lobster appearance, and the low price from processors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some discouraging offshore news for lobster fishermen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The spring season of Canada lobster did not start with all good tidings as a duo of family fishermen lost their lives off Acadia in New Brunswick <\/a>. They were off to kick-start the season in the Miscou Island area when tragedy struck. Reports point to erratic weather that later clouded a fine Saturday morning initially filled with sunshine. Apparently, windy conditions took over later in the course of a calm day, causing the pair of uncle and nephew to be cast overboard.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similar straits were also\u00a0 reported on May 1 when the small fisher hamlet of Grand Manan Island<\/a> lost its Canada lobster processing plant to fire. Fishing activities were grounded in this New Brunswick center of fishing when the processing factory went ablaze and it took long to douse the blaze because of the isolated nature of the area. A ferry that cruises the area and helps convey the lobster fare of the fishermen also got delayed in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Great outlook ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The good news is that some new major fishing entities will give a boost in production terms by enlisting in the Canada lobster fishing season in New Brunswick. Lennox Island First Nation <\/a>group has received a go-ahead by the province\u2019s aquatic department to the effect that they can fish all spring-long under a treaty that restricts their activity on Prince Edward Island\u2019s North Shore<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The treaty, approved by Canada\u2019s highest court, owing to the sensitive nature of lobster fishing, gives the group the right to a limited time fishing warrant. By early May, the Lennox group had already put up its 100-strong lobster traps within the waters covered by the treaty to boost the province\u2019s spring catch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n P.E.I. also started the season earlier this year than it is normal: the season began on April 26\u00a0 as opposed to the usual April 30<\/a> yearly start. The reason is to close the province\u2019s Canada lobster spring season before July as the latter is the month for lobster reproduction in this part of the world. This will ensure that the next season in winter through spring will be more productive than this one. Last year, Prince Edward Island\u2019s fishermen ate into the July reproductive timing.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Overall, despite the plummeting of prices at the outset of the spring season, Canada lobster is about to return to the fish market in tonnes. Canada exported $3.26 billion <\/a>of lobster in 2022, which accounted for a staggering 37.1 percent of the total values from fisheries for the country. Main export destinations include the US and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n