Nova Scotia’s lobster buyers and processors are calling for a halt to the province’s lobster-fishing season, saying the market for the crustaceans has disappeared due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The CBC reported 75 companies involved in fishing and buying from lobstering areas 33 and 34 –the only areas currently open in Canada – agreed on an emergency conference call on Thursday, 12 March to immediately cease fishing.
Compliance is voluntary, but the Seafood Alliance of Nova Scotia told the CBC it is pressing Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans to order a complete shutdown of lobstering nationally. It called the market situation for Canadian lobster– the majority of which are sold in China – “unprecedented.”
"The collapse of markets in the Pacific Rim, Europe, and now North America make the challenge monumental as of today and for the short-term future at least," a summary of the meeting provided by the association said.
"We would like to meet with the various harvesting groups and DFO to have a discussion to see if we can come up with a plan that works for everybody to move forward," the organization’s executive director, Leo Muise, said.
In response, DFO Press Secretary Jane Deeks said in a statement to CBC it is “monitoring the situation closely.”
"We know that many industries, including our fisheries, are facing a serious decline in exports,” Deeks said. “Any decisions going forward will be made only after close consultation with all of our industry partners.”
Lobster fishing areas 33 and 34 yielded a combined 27,000 metric tons (MT) of lobster last season, valued at CAD 390 million (USD 280.5 million, EUR 252,9 million).
On Saturday, 7 March, the first flight carrying Canadian lobster directly to China in more than a month left from Halifax. Typically, seven to eight weekly flights carrying lobster to Asia leave Halifax during peak season. The flight is a test of whether the market in China has recovered as the number of COVID-19 cases there has declined, CBC reported.
Photo courtesy of Atlantic Coast Images/Shutterstock
