March 14, 2016 - 10:33 — Timothy Gillespie
Fishermen catching lobsters, bigger than ever, in crazy, crazy numbers
Seafood buyers are reporting high lobster mortality and poor quality, which a federal scientist says may be because lobsters are extra fragile this year in Canada's largest lobster region off southwestern Nova Scotia.
Fishermen are catching lobsters, bigger than ever, in "crazy, crazy numbers," says Joel German, plant manager of I. Deveau Fisheries in Barrington Passage, but this winter, more than the usual amount have soft shells.
"It's not the same lobster as it used to be, so we can't hold them as long," he said.
Lobsters generally grow out of and then shed their shells once a year in a process called moulting. As the shells grow back, they're soft, making the lobster easier to hurt — and harder to store and ship.
A late moult means those shells had less time to harden before the province's southwestern fishing season started in late November.
More lobster dying
In previous years, German said he'd store lobster bought in December until mid-March with a two per cent mortality rate.
This year, he said he's seeing a minimum of five to 10 per cent dying before shipping, with more never hitting a dinner plate.
"It's to the point the dealers can't sustain the hits," German said.
"A lot of guys lost their shirts this year big time because of quality issues."
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