Commercial fishermen in LFA 34 left with their boats early morning on Monday November 29 on the first day of the season which is traditionally known as dumping day. On this day the boats and their crews will set their traps. They are permitted to start hauling the catch at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday. For the safety of fishermen the coast guard and DFO started patrolling the area on the water and from the air.
With the beginning of lobster season of Nova Scotia’s biggest lobster fishing areas, Fisheries and Oceans Canada is reminding lobster harvesters and shippers to be vigilant in ensuring that their catch meets the legal requirements for the fishery. These requirements include restrictions on landing lobsters that are below a minimum size or retaining females that are egg bearing (“berried”) or v-notched.
Allan MacLean, Director of Conservation and Protection for DFO Maritimes, said that a culture of conservation must prevail in our industry to ensure its sustainability. He added that the lobster industry is too important to allow it to be jeopardized by illegal and careless activity.
Record says that Nova Scotia’s Lobster Fishing Areas 33 and 34 are home to approximately 1,700 licence holders. These two areas alone produced lobster landings worth over $215 million last year (2009) and remain significant contributors to the economy of the southwestern portion of Nova Scotia. Before reaching to US market, the product has to first pass through the Canada/U.S. border. In recent years, stepped-up surveillance and inspections of shipments of lobster at the Canada/U.S. border crossing have caused significant delays in the movement of Canadian product to U.S. markets.
