In her press communiqué the Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, said that the government support of $14 million to seven lobster harvesting groups in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick as part of Canada’s Atlantic Lobster Sustainability Measures program. With this investment there in total over $20M has been issued till date to lobster harvesting groups through the Atlantic Lobster Sustainability Measures.
Minister Shea said that a strong lobster fishery is of utmost importance to Atlantic Canadians. She also added that in implementing sustainability projects in their Lobster Fishing Areas, these harvesting groups also doing work for conservation and took measures for the improved economic viability of Canada’s lobster fishery over the long term.
Minister Shea also announced that the minimum lobster carapace size will be raised to 71 millimetres for all Lobster Fishing Areas in the southern Gulf of St Lawrence for the 2011 season, with a further increase to 72 millimetres in 2013. She told that the government’s Atlantic Lobster Sustainability Measures program, with its focus on improving sustainability, has been an important factor in achieving this conservation success.
The Atlantic Lobster Sustainability Measures program covers all Lobster Fishing Areas on Canada’s east coast. Securing funding through the program is a two-stage process. A sustainability plan that applies to an entire Lobster Fishing Area must first be developed by the responsible fishing organizations for approval by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). Successful plans are then subject to review by the External Applications Review Board.
