Lobstermen in the Gaspé Peninsula region of Quebec, Canada had a record-breaking season in 2025 with increases to both landings and value.
Lobstermen in the Gaspé Peninsula fish over 12 weeks of the year, and in 2025 landed 10.9 million pounds of lobster, up 5 percent year over year and higher than the previous record of 10.7 million pounds in the 2023 season, according to Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) statistics. Those lobster were sold for CAD 83 million (USD 59.4 million, EUR 51 million) in total, an increase of CAD 10 million (USD 7.1 million, EUR 6.1 million) over 2024.
Lobstermen in the region said better weather in 2025 compared to 2024 helped the fishery reach its record catch, Radio Canada reported.
“We know that in 2024, it rained a lot, with a lot of wind,” Association of Professional Fishermen of Southern Gaspésie Executive Director O’Neil Cloutier told Radio Canada. “This year, we found ourselves with a dry climate, with little wind and little rain and with calm seas from mid-season for nearly five weeks, which probably caused the lobsters to ‘cage’ more.”
Lobstermen in the region in the region received an average of CAD 7.66 (USD 5.49, EUR 4.70) per pound of lobster, which Cloutier attributed to high demand and a lower supply.
"It's simply because in other regions of the Maritimes, volumes are declining, landings are no longer what they were just five years ago, while those in the Gulf are increasing," he said.
Statistics from DFO indicate that in the last 10 years, landing volumes in Quebec have been steadily increasing every single year. Meanwhile, landings in Nova Scotia – which lands roughly half of all lobster caught in Canada – have fluctuated from a high of 51,555 metric tons (MT) in 2019 to 39,817 MT in 2023, the last year of statistics posted.
Lobster Council of Canada data is slightly different form the DFO’s data, but similarly has a steady increase in landings in Quebec.
As the industry continues to land more lobster, Cloutier said the DFO needs to be cautious in granting new fishing licenses as the processing industry will need to be capable of handling the incoming volumes of new raw material. Cloutier told Radio Canada nearly 100,000 pounds of lobster was thrown away in the northern sector of Gaspé as the industry could not accommodate the influx.
