Lobster fishermen in Nova Scotia and Maine believ that 2009 will be difficult year due to economic recession but they are working hard over ideas for reviving the industry. In this crisis lobster prices have fallen sharply, endangering the livelihoods of fishermen in Nova Scotia and Maine. According to The Canadian Press, fishermen need to earn at least $4 or $5 per pound of lobster caught to break even. In Canada and the United States, lobster prices have fallen to as low as $2 per pound, as demand has markedly decreased.
This economic downturn have forced some Nova Scotia fishermen to tie up their boats and stop fishing for the winter, while fishermen have demanded price increases, which experts say the market cannot withstand. According to Agriculture Canada lobster is the most lucrative of Canada’s seafood exports raking in close to $1 billion in export sales. But this year’s strong lobster harvest, combined with the financial crisis, has wrought havoc on the industry, reports the Daily Herald Tribune. And fishermen fear the effects could spread to Newfoundland, the Bay of Fundy and the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Even some Maine lobster fishermen have banded together, holding special sales to help draw attention to lobster’s unusually low price and to provide fishermen with a needed boost in income. It is good that increased local sales can help to stabilize prices and keep many lobstermen employed, local revenue alone “can’t make up for the sharp drop in shipments to Canada and elsewhere.
