P.E.I. Fishermen's Association hopeful for higher lobster prices

Higher lobster prices in Nova Scotia have the P.E.I. Fishermen's Association hopeful Island prices will be more lucrative this year too.

Fishermen in southwest Nova Scotia have been getting more than $8 a pound for market size lobsters, says PEIFA president Craig Avery. That's anywhere from $2 to $2.50 more a pound than they were this time last year.

Avery doesn't want to hazard a guess as to how much higher prices might be on P.E.I. this year, but he expects the lower Canadian dollar and higher international demand will work in the favour of Island fishermen.

"The live market is extremely good right now. An awful lot of customers looking for live lobsters, so we're hoping for a much better price than last year," said Avery, adding that a lot of that demand is coming from the U.S.

"But we won't know until we start fishing. We have no way of controlling that."

Some lobster likely for sale Saturday

Around a thousand Island fishermen will load their boats with traps Friday to get ready for setting day Saturday. Avery expects some fishermen, depending on how the catch is looking, will haul some traps that day, especially given fishermen don't fish Sunday.

However, P.E.I. fishermen will likely have to fish for at least a week before getting paid for their early catch.

Fifty-five per cent of lobsters caught in P.E.I. waters are smaller canner-sized lobsters, which has been a factor in the past, but Avery doesn't think that's going to play much of a role in the price this year.

"A lot of our canners are at a size over three-quarters of a pound lobster," said Avery.

"And a lot of them are going to the live market. So there really shouldn't be any difference, much difference anymore in the price of canners and markets."

Demand increased for smaller-sized lobsters

Demand has also risen for these smaller-sized lobsters, with higher sales of PEIFA's own Master Lobster brand in France and greater demand for smaller lobsters in China and other Asian markets, according to Avery.

"When most places in Asia opened up they were looking for huge, huge market lobsters four-, five-, six-pounders. Now the middle-class people in China are looking for lobsters and they find it easier and cheaper and better price to buy a couple of lobsters per person for the plate rather than one."

Avery said processors told him earlier this year that could help push up the price for canners beyond the market price.

"We've actually been told that canners could be higher price than markets this year because of the demand."

One concern that could push down the price is a large number of lobsters being landed in the first few days of fishing, but Avery is predicting slow and steady landings as at the start of the season last year. He's measured the water temperature in a number of places across the Island in the last week and doesn't think the water is any warmer than last year, despite the lack of ice this year.

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