P.E.I.’s fall lobster fishery coping with low prices and high costs
‘When the price drops like that, the other expenses don’t drop along with it’
One week after the fall lobster season opened on Prince Edward Island, some fishers are worried.
Prices are at least $2 to $3 less a pound than they were just a few months ago — in some cases as low as half of what they were in the spring lobster fishery.
“The most common price in the last few days is in the $4.75 to $5 range,” said Charlie McGeoghegan, who chairs the Lobster P.E.I. board.
“So yeah, definitely, fishers are concerned.”
McGeoghegan said the problem of low lobster prices is compounded by the high cost of putting a boat in the water these days.
“The price of fuel hasn’t gone down much — it went down a little, but not not near enough — and the price of bait is high as well,” he said.
“And all the other expenses like boats and gear and engines and everything… that’s the hard part, is when the price drops like that, the other expenses don’t drop along with it. So it decreases your profit margin by a lot.”
He said there may be several reasons for the lower market prices, including inflation, which is keeping many consumers from buying a high-end product like lobster.
We’re hoping that things rebound here quickly and that the restaurants in the U.S. market get busier than what they are.— Charlie McGeoghegan
The United States is the biggest market for P.E.I. lobster. McGeoghegan said restaurants both in the U.S. and locally are ordering only what they need for the next couple of weeks. In the past, they would order for months at a time.
“We’re hoping that things rebound here quickly and that the restaurants in the U.S. market get busier than what they are,” said McGeoghegan.
Spring backlog yet to be processed
Jerry Gavin, executive director of the P.E.I. Seafood Processors Association, says there’s still a lot of lobster meat in storage from the spring fishery.
“There’s a lot of meat in inventory and that certainly wasn’t the case last year, so yes, it’s going to be a tougher fall for fishers.
“But it’s based on the market; it’s based on what consumers are willing to pay,” he said.
“We would like to see fishers get more for their lobster, but at the end of the day processors have to be economically viable as well.”
With files from Laura Meader