The leader of a newly formed lobster fishermen’s association in Nova Scotia says the group has made gains in its quest to drive up the price of lobster.
The price of lobster per pound has jumped from about $3.50 in early January to about $4.25 as of Monday, according to the Lobster Council of Canada.
James Mood, a former lobster fisherman and dealer in Yarmouth, said that’s because members of the Professional Lobster Fishermen’s Association have been withholding their catch since last week to drive up prices.
Mood said members of the group based in southwestern Nova Scotia will continue to fish without selling their catch until the price of lobster reaches $5.50 per pound, a price he considers fair and reasonable for all involved.
“Fishermen have to make money, the dealer has to make a profit and you’ve got to satisfy the consumer,” Mood said Monday. “On a $5.50 price, that is an affordable price for the consumer to eat lobsters and buy lobsters and enjoy lobsters.”
Geoff Irvine, executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada based in Halifax, said a lobster industry strategy released at the end of 2010 highlights the need for a price-setting system.
“There’s no dispute,” said Irvine last week. “It’s a long-term challenge of the industry.”
Prices are set based on supply and demand and typically go up after the holiday season anyway, said Irvine.
He said the association’s actions “point to what we’re trying to work on.”
“And that is to try to provide some stability and some regularity and some predictability in the pricing,” said Irvine.
He said working groups will discuss the matter in the next few months.
But that doesn’t help fishermen in the interim, said Mood.
“(It) sure didn’t help us out this fall.”
Mood will be in West Pubnico this week in an effort to recruit more fishermen to the association. He said over the next month, he’ll also travel to Digby and Shelburne Counties and possibly Lunenburg.
About 300 people attended an association meeting last week in Yarmouth, and there are more than 1,600 lobster fishermen in southwestern Nova Scotia, said Mood.
Consumers do not need to worry about a shortage of lobster in store tanks, said Mood.
Although dealers are unable to buy lobster from association members, they still have a stock ready to sell to buyers.
Irvine said at about $400 million, Nova Scotia represents about half of the lobster industry in Canada.