For many, summer in the Maritimes would not be complete without fresh lobster.
But locals and tourists alike could have to shell out more for the crustaceans as prices reach historic highs.
“Our lobsters are gold-plated now. Prices have been the highest in commercial history,” says Stewart Lamont, managing director of Tangier Lobster Co. Ltd, a live lobster exporter on Nova Scotia’s eastern shore.
When the pandemic hit, export and restaurant industry demand plummeted. The shore price of lobster — the amount fishers get at the wharf from buyers — sunk as low as $4 a pound.
“There was an initial glut of lobsters on the market at the start of the lockdown but then it spun back the other way,” says Colin Sproul, president of the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association.
Sales of live and processed lobster rebounded following the first wave of COVID-19.
Prices started to go up with demand and have continued climbing since.
Canadian lobster exports reached a staggering $3.26 billion last year, beating the previous record of $2.59 billion, set in 2019, by more than 25 per cent.
With many consumers saving money during the pandemic and limited travel or restaurant dining, the crustacean long considered a luxury item for special occasions became a top seller in the U.S.
“Americans bought lobster during the pandemic like they never did before and that drove up demand and price,” says Geoff Irvine, executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada.
While processed lobster — meat and tails — was in high demand in the U.S., sales of live lobster increased in Asia.
“There is unlimited demand in Asia for Canadian lobster,” Sproul says. “It’s a top quality product and we have a good trade relationship.”
Strong demand, coupled with smaller catches in winter months, sent shore prices spiralling as high as $19.50 a pound.
“The highest wharf price that I’ve ever heard of for lobster in my life was a few weeks ago at $19.50 a pound,” Sproul says.
Prices have since dropped to around $14.50 this week and could ease further during the spring lobster fishery.
The opening of several lobster fishing areas across Atlantic Canada in the coming weeks is expected to boost supply.
Thousands of extra fishing boats will hit the water setting traps. Also, landings _ the catch or total weight of lobsters trapped and sold _ increase in warmer spring weather as well.
The added supply should rein in prices, Lamont says.
“We’re playing with fire when we pay prices that cannot be passed on to the market,” he says of the record lobster prices.
1:59 Ottawa announces boost in budget for fisheries
Ottawa announces boost in budget for fisheries – May 14, 2020
If prices climb again to $20 a pound and stay there, some restaurants and grocery stores may stop selling the crustaceans altogether, Lamont says.
“We have visitors come to Nova Scotia from all over the world to experience our seafood but at the current prices it’s really not accessible,” he says. “We could start to see lobster taken off menus.”
Irvine with the lobster council says strong lobster prices and exports benefit the region’s economy.
Still, he admits it can be pricier for locals to pick up a boiled lobster at Sobeys for supper.
“It is challenging for people in Atlantic Canada if they want to buy lobster because we’re exporting so much at high prices,” Irvine says. “It may be tough for local people here to be able to afford it … but our goal is to maximize the economic value.”
But Lamont says shore prices that approach $20 a pound are unsustainable.
“We have this concept of the poor fisherman from 50 years ago but fishermen today are earning incomes that are extraordinary,” he says.
Tales of lobster fishers drawing half-million-dollar incomes and fishing towns inundated with shiny new trucks abound.
But the reality is fishers are also facing crushingly high inflation _ on top of hefty debt many take on to join the lucrative industry, experts say.
Mounting fuel and labour costs, big loans on boats, licences and other equipment and ongoing maintenance all eat into high shore prices, they say.
“For a lobster boat that holds about 10,000 litres of fuel, you’re looking at a fill up as high as $18,000,” Sproul says.
“Wages are also high because it’s a very demanding job and there’s a component of danger.”
High operating costs are in addition to the upfront cost of joining the fishery, which can hit as much as $5 million once a licence, boat and lobster traps are tallied, he says.
Meanwhile, the cost of bait used in lobster traps is expected to increase after Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced the closure of the Atlantic mackerel and commercial bait fisheries on the East Coast, citing concerns that dwindling stocks have entered a “critical zone.”
“The biggest source of bait has just been eliminated from the industry,” Sproul says. “We’ll have to import bait and it will cost us more.”
Higher bait costs is just one of several factors could affect prices, Irvine says.
Inflation, uncertainty with spiking COVID-19 cases and the potential impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on shipping and demand could all influence lobster prices, he says.
“The big question on everyone’s mind is what’s going to happen when all the seasons open up here in the next month. We expect the market to stay good but there’s a lot of variables.”
1:59 Seized traps returned to Sipekne’katik, which plans to launch ceremonial fishery next week
Seized traps returned to Sipekne’katik, which plans to launch ceremonial fishery next week – May 27, 2021
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 10, 2022.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
