Talk on the wharf is one of uncertainty for upcoming lobster season

By Michael Gorman

SOU’WESTER

For all the talk about uncertainty in the lobster industry in southwestern Nova Scotia, the talk from analysts and politicians and buyers, nowhere is the talk perhaps more accurate and astute than on the wharf.

As fishermen prepare for another lobster season there are many things on their minds: the cost of fuel; the condition of the stocks; the quality of the lobsters; and the available market given these uncertain economic times. But the thing that's on everyone's mind, as it has been for a number of years, is the price — what will lobster go for when that first catch arrives back at the wharf?

That's what Blair Shaw wants to know. For the last eight years Shaw has captained a boat out of Little River, Yarmouth County, N.S. Before that he fished with his father.

Shaw says the price is one of the chief concerns for everyone. "I'm feeling like we're going to have a really bad price again," he said standing on the Little River wharf next to his boat, Storm Force. Shaw says what makes him most nervous about the price is that for a number of years it hasn't been what fishermen have hoped for. Added to that concern this year is the fact that lobsters in the New England area are selling for little more than $3 a pound. "It seems like every year it's the same thing," he said. "It's always something new that puts the price down it seems and since (expenses) are getting higher and higher and higher, it doesn't look good for this fall either."

Despite the concerns and changing economics of the industry, Shaw says he tries not to change too much about his preparation each season. He will once again fish with a crew of four, counting himself. Fuel will again be a major expense. In talking with other people he knows who fish, Shaw estimates a fisherman spends an average of $25,000 a year on fuel alone. He's also considering if he should use certain traps or order new ones. But like everything, it's a gamble. "I'm trying to cut back on expenses," he said, "but if you do, when you start fishing you (might not have) what you need."

The number of fishermen who can afford not to fish year round certainly isn't as high as it might have once been. Shaw is one of the ones on the water all year. He has bills to pay including a loan on hit boat, which means downtime isn't much of an option. "A lot of my friends are working a lot more than they used to in the summer, that's for sure," he said. "Some of them are mossing again, some are doing whatever they can, some are working in the fish plant; whatever they can do."