COLUMN: Fighting back against lower prices

Lobster fishermen in Canada’s smallest province are caught in a classic price squeeze.

Higher costs for fuel and bait are driving up the cost of heading onto the water but that added cost is not being reflected in the price they receive at the wharf.

Prices starting off the season were $4 for canner and $4.50 for market lobsters – a full 50 cents less than the market was paying in Nova Scotia during the same period. Most processors later put the price up to $4.50 and $5. By contrast, the 2007 prices were $5.25 for canners and $6 for markets.

Fishermen had planned a lobster giveaway at the province’s largest mall to draw attention to the situation. However, the event had to be cancelled after space could not be secured in the mall parking lot.

"What may be done later in the season is now under discussion," said Ed Frenette, the executive director of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association. "Fishermen are certainly in a bind and need public support."

Frenette said those not involved in the fishery must be made to understand the poor prices are having a drastic impact on the province’s rural economy. Since agriculture is also in a cash crunch for many of the same reasons, rural P.E.I. is under siege. Given the fact the Cradle of Confederation is the most rural province in the country (with the possible exception of Saskatchewan and they are booming thanks to high oil and wheat prices) the impact of the double whammy on the primary industry is hitting hard.

Frenette said the industry is on the verge of disaster saying, “We simply can’t continue at this prices." Provincial Fisheries Minister Allan Campbell has moved to ease restrictions on buyers to hopefully allow more competition at the wharf.

The move was a long-standing request from the fishermen’s association. However, given the fact the season is now past the halfway mark, it is unclear exactly how many additional buyers will come forward. It may well score the former lobster fisherman from Souris some political points with the industry, and it may also have a significant impact next year, but can fishermen afford to wait that long?

Buyers have always had to apply for a licence 30 days prior to the start of the season. Campbell explained, "The amendments to the regulations basically allow for an individual or a company to apply for a buying licence now at any time and, basically, what will happen is if someone applies after the start of the lobster season, I, as minister, will review their application. We will have our inspectors go out and inspect their equipment and if they meet the eligibility requirements, I, as minister, will have the ability now to issue a licence within three working days."

Campbell also plans to hire a consultant to study the industry. That report is due sometime in June and is expected to consider ways to rationalize the number of people in the fishery.