Blockade deal reached at P.E.I. lobster plant

A P.E.I. lobster plant has reached a deal with local fishermen who launched a blockade Tuesday morning over a dispute about processing lobster from Maine.

About 200 fishermen turned up at the gates of South Shore Seafood in Bloomfield in western P.E.I. Tuesday morning. They threatened to stop any trucks bringing lobster into the plant.

The fishermen have agreed that the plant can complete the processing of lobster currently in the plant, and the owners have agreed not to bring in any more for now.

The fishermen are upset about the prices being proposed for purchasing lobster at the wharf during the fall fishery. Fishermen in New Brunswick have also been protesting. They have been offered $2.50 a pound for canners and $3 for markets, just over half the price they feel would give them an acceptable profit.

Fishermen believe the U.S. lobster are depressing prices. They want a meeting with processors and the government to get the prices up.