LFA36 Lobster Season Opens on November 11 at 6am Every year at this time, 308 lobster fishing boats head out to set the first traps of the season in Southwestern New Brunswick. “Setting Day” always occurs the second Tuesday of November and marks the start of one of the busiest weeks of the fishing year. Catches are high at the start and it is estimated that fishermen make 35% of their income for the fall fishery during this first week. The fall season officially lasts until January 15, but most fishermen finish up by Christmas. The fall lobster season is an exciting time throughout the coastal communities of Southwestern New Brunswick. Captains and crew, gear suppliers, lobster buyers and distributers, boat builders, machine shops, hardware stores and even the Department of Fisheries and Oceans work tirelessly to prepare for the start of the season. Our 308 lobster boats employ on average 3 fishermen each. That is 924 direct jobs and as many as 1848 spin off jobs in the community. With a total of 2772 jobs, the lobster fishery is the largest fishery in the region. The herring fishery is also important business in these parts, employing an additional 1000 workers between the Connors Brothers sardine plant and the herring seiner fleet. Herring is used as bait in the lobster fishery and is sold as the famous Brunswick sardines and kippers. These 2 fisheries alone are responsible for 3772 local jobs and that does not count the clam diggers, periwinkle pickers, dulse and rockweed harvesters, or the shad, gaspereau, eel, and sea urchin fishermen. Fishing is clearly a vital component of the Southwestern NB economy.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 12:31:25 +0000
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