‘Best season I’ve had’ – Fortune Bay lobsterman

By Paul Herridge

FOR THE SOU’WESTER

Lobster fisherman Perry Cluett characterized the start of this year’s season in Fortune Bay as among the best he’s seen in over 30 years.

“It is, yes. This is the best season I’ve had since I’ve been fishing. It’s good to see a fishery that’s doing well compared to other species.”

A fisherman’s representative from Garnish, Cluett acknowledged he has spoken with lobster fishers from around the tip of the ‘boot’ – from his home community to Fortune – and reports are all the same.

“It’s been excellent weather so far. Catch rates are excellent. As a matter of fact, catch rates are above last year … by far.”

However, he indicated the price – $4 per pound – fishermen are receiving is a little low this year. Cluett speculated a poor economy in the Unites States could be playing a role, and suggested the price might pick up later in the season.

In Placentia Bay, the situation is once again a different story.

Gerald Drake, a lobster fisherman from Burin, indicated the season got off to another notoriously slow start.

“Usually, it always starts off slow, but now it picks up about halfway though the season, say when the water gets warmer.”

Drake noted he’s hauling 200 traps to get roughly 20-30 lobsters.



(Paul Herridge is a journalist with Transcontinental Media’s Southern Gazette newspaper and a contributor to the Sou’Wester.)