Atlantic Canada's lobster industry stung by low prices and global economic turmoil

Michael MacDonald · The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 15, 2025 5:50 PM EDT | Last Updated: 29 minutes ago

Lobster harvesters successful Atlantic Canada aren't thrilled with the prices they're getting for their catches, but experts accidental the caller downturn comes arsenic nary astonishment owed to uncertainty looming implicit the industry.

Prices typically dip successful May arsenic the outpouring lobster play swings into precocious cogwheel and buyers expect a boost successful supply. But this play is different, says Bernie Berry, elder fisheries advisor for the Nova Scotia-based Coldwater Lobster Association.

"The large happening close present is the disorder astir tariffs, whether they're connected oregon off," helium said successful an interview. "Everybody is precise nervous."

The relation represents lobster fishers, astir of them successful southwestern Nova Scotia. That country is location to Canada's astir lucrative lobster sportfishing areas, which typically unfastened for sportfishing successful November and adjacent successful June. As the latest play started winding down a period ago, unrecorded lobsters astatine the wharf were being sold astatine a steadfast $15 a pound.

Since then, the terms has dropped to $8 a lb on Nova Scotia's Atlantic shore, and arsenic debased arsenic $6.50 a lb successful the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Newfoundland, which has near galore fishers fuming.

"Not lone is this unreasonable and puts our sportfishing enterprises astatine risk, [$6.50 a pound] is besides an insult to our fishermen," said a caller connection from the Maritime Fishermen's Union, which represents 1,300 inshore food harvesters successful New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

At existent prices, fishers are counting connected large catches to screen their costs. But the catches truthful acold this outpouring person been smaller than hoped, chiefly due to the fact that of acold water temperatures.

"The $8 per lb mightiness dependable similar a workable terms but erstwhile you origin successful the debased volume, it doesn't work," Berry said. "The marketplace could astir apt grip a higher price, but there's speculation connected what's going to hap erstwhile the [lobster] is ashore."

That speculation is being fuelled by the economical turmoil unleashed by U.S. President Donald Trump and ongoing commercialized troubles betwixt Canada and China.

On March 10, China announced a 25 per cent retaliatory tariff connected Canadian seafood successful effect to Canadian duties imposed past autumn connected Chinese-made electrical vehicles, alloy and aluminum. The Chinese tariff rises to 41 per cent erstwhile a worth added taxation is imposed.

The caller duties person efficaciously ended Canada's $1.3-billion seafood commercialized with China, which happens to beryllium Canada's second-largest marketplace for unrecorded lobster.

On April 2, however, Trump announced that Canada would beryllium spared from immoderate caller tariffs, including a threatened 25 per cent work connected seafood.

Earlier this week, U.S. and Chinese officials rolled backmost astir of their caller tit-for-tat tariffs, which was atrocious quality for the Canadian lobster business. The alteration means American lobster exporters present bask astir a 15 per cent vantage implicit their Canadian competitors erstwhile selling lobster into Chinese markets.

Lobster exporter Stewart Lamont said the $8 terms constituent on Nova Scotia's Atlantic seashore seems reasonable, fixed the harsh economical climate.

"We are operating successful the astir uncertain situation — different than COVID — successful the past decade," said Lamont, managing manager of Nova Scotia's Tangier Lobster Company. "There's much geopolitics impacting pricing than seafood issues."

"It's not a terrific terms if you've grown accustomed to $15," said Lamont, whose institution has clients successful Canada and 21 countries astir the world. "But it's a fantastic terms fixed each that's taken spot successful the world."

Canada exports astir 40 per cent of its unrecorded lobsters to the United States and different 40 per cent to China, with the remainder headed to Europe, different parts of Asia and the Middle East, said Kris Vascotto, enforcement manager of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance.

"When we get that instability and planetary headwinds successful the economy, you're successful a presumption wherever you can't hazard taking that [lobster] inventory astatine a precocious price," said Vascotto, whose radical represents dozens of seafood companies crossed Nova Scotia.

"It's a precise hard clip for everybody, from the harvesters to the processors, to the unrecorded holders and shippers."