Nova Scotia fishers struggling to get lobsters to take the bait
Most fishers have their own bait recipe for what catches lobster.
The season opened last week in Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 33, which runs from Shelburne County to Eastern Passage, N.S., and according to Brett Young, the lobsters have not been taking the bait.
“We were doing a little better last year. I think the catches are down a little bit from last year,” said Young.
Fishers in Eastern Passage have a few theories as to why their catch might be down and one is because of post-tropical storm Fiona.
“It could’ve messed them up a little bit. It could’ve killed some of them or they could be in really deep water,” said Young. “The water temperature also dropped in the last couple weeks too so that could’ve shocked them.”
With high prices for bait and fuel, fishers are hoping the low supply might drive the price up.
At $9 per pound at a retail shop on the wharf, a three-pound lobster would cost $27 -- much less than what fishers were getting at the end of last season.
“The lobster fisherman were getting $18.50 a pound. This year they’re only getting about $7 a pound at the wharf, so it’s quite a big drop from last year,” said retailer Samantha Strachan.
That’s the uncertainty that fishing families face every year.
“Lobster season to me is very big. My daughter’s father is a fisherman, her uncle is a fisherman, my father is a fisherman. I come from a fisherman family,” said Raychel Romkey.
The season in LFA 33 runs until the end of May so many are hoping this is just a slow start to the season.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.