Fishermen hoping lobster industry will be better in the fall

Fishermen on P.E.I. are hoping the lobster industry will be better in the fall than it was in the spring.

This year, the fall lobster season runs fromAug. 10 to Oct. 11.

COVID-19 significantly reduced the demand for Island lobster this spring as the global pandemic shut down restaurants, forced cruise ships to tie up in port and prevented some temporary foreign workers from coming to work at P.E.I. fish plants.

Charlie McGeoghegan, a lobster fisherman in Pinette and chairman of the P.E.I. Lobster Marketing Board, said it looks like the fall fishery may be better than the spring.

"There's two major plants on P.E.I. that do most of the fall product and both of those plants have predominantly a local workforce," he said.

"I think those plants will be all right and you're talking 230 or so fishermen versus 1,000 in the spring, so there is a lot less volume just because of the number of fishers."

McGeoghegan said demand for live lobster is actually up in B.C., Alberta and Ontario as more people decide to cook at home rather than eat out in restaurants.

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