Lobster landings up

Lobster landings were good along the west coast of Newfoundland this season, but low prices and high fuel costs sank any gains.

“More than likely I’ll be at it again next year,” said Nameless Cove lobster fisherman Michael LaVallee. “You never know, the price might be back up again.”

Lobster went for $4.25 a pound during the recently closed 2008 fishery, down from $6 in 2007. Gas, meanwhile, increased to $1.50 per litre. To cope with fuel prices LaVallee bought a four-stroke 50 H.P. Yamaha motor that burns just over 30 litres during the eight hours it takes him to haul his 350 lobster traps. His old two-stroke motor burned more than 45 litres.

The good news was that 14B lobster fishermen (Point Riche to Big Brook) landed 219 tonnes this season, up 18 per cent from last year. Fishermen in 14A (south of Point Riche) were on par with last year, landing 219 tonnes.

“From my own perspective the better landings are the fruition of good stewardship and some management measures implemented over the past number of years,” said Don Ball, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ west coast chief of resource management. “It’s a positive sign we’re moving toward a more productive fishery.”

New management measures implemented in the late 1990s included increasing the minimum carapace size to 82.5 mm, prohibiting the retention of lobster with a carapace over five inches, fewer traps and a shorter season.

According to Ball, lobster landings have been on a stable to upward trend over the past couple years, meaning they aren’t the result of just one good breeding year.

Newfoundland’s west coast was recognized by the Fishery Resource Conservation Council’s 2007 report for tight management and stewardship promoting sustainability.

(From the Northern Pen)