Atlantic Canada’s lobster industry stung by low prices, global economic turmoil

Lobster harvesters in Atlantic Canada aren’t thrilled with the prices they’re getting for their catches, but experts say the downturn comes as no surprise.

HALIFAX — Lobster harvesters in Atlantic Canada aren’t thrilled with the prices they’re getting for their catches, but experts say the recent downturn comes as no surprise due to uncertainty looming over the industry.

Prices typically dip in May as the spring lobster season swings into high gear and buyers anticipate a boost in supply. But this season is different, says Bernie Berry, senior fisheries adviser for the Nova Scotia-based Coldwater Lobster Association.

“The big thing right now is the confusion around tariffs, whether they’re on or off,” he said in an interview. “Everybody is very nervous.”

The association represents lobster fishers, most of them in southwestern Nova Scotia. That area is home to Canada’s most lucrative lobster fishing areas, which typically open for fishing in November and close in June. As the latest season started winding down a month ago, live lobsters at the wharf were being sold at a healthy $15 a pound.

Since then, the price has dropped to $8 a pound along Nova Scotia’s Atlantic shore, and as low as $6.50 a pound in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Newfoundland, which has left many fishers fuming.

“Not only is this unreasonable and puts our fishing enterprises at risk, ($6.50 a pound) is also an insult to our fishermen,” said a recent statement from the Maritime Fishermen’s Union, which represents 1,300 inshore fish harvesters in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

At current prices, fishers are counting on big catches to cover their costs. But the catches so far this spring have been smaller than hoped, mainly because of cold ocean temperatures.

“The $8 per pound might sound like a workable price but when you factor in the low volume, it doesn’t work,” Berry said. “The market could probably handle a higher price, but there’s speculation on what’s going to happen once the (lobster) is ashore.”

That speculation is being fueled by the economic turmoil unleashed by U.S. President Donald Trump and ongoing trade troubles between Canada and China.

On March 10, China announced a 25-per-cent retaliatory tariff on Canadian seafood in response to Canadian duties imposed last fall on Chinese-made electric vehicles, steel and aluminum. The Chinese tariff rises to 41 per cent when a value added tax is imposed.

The new duties have effectively ended Canada’s $1.3-billion seafood trade with China, which happens to be Canada’s second-largest market for live lobster.

On April 2, however, Trump announced that Canada would be spared from some new tariffs, including a threatened 25 per cent duty on seafood.

Earlier this week, U.S. and Chinese officials rolled back most of their recent tit-for-tat tariffs, which was bad news for the Canadian lobster business. The change means American lobster exporters now enjoy about a 15 per cent advantage over their Canadian competitors when selling lobster into Chinese markets.

Lobster exporter Stewart Lamont said the $8 price point along Nova Scotia’s Atlantic coast seems reasonable, given the harsh economic climate.

“We are operating in the most uncertain environment — other than COVID — in the last decade,” said Lamont, managing director of Nova Scotia’s Tangier Lobster Company. “There’s more geopolitics impacting pricing than seafood issues.”

“It’s not a terrific price if you’ve grown accustomed to 15 dollars,” said Lamont, whose company has clients in Canada and 21 countries around the world. “But it’s a wonderful price given all that’s taken place in the world.”

Canada exports roughly 40 per cent of its live lobsters to the United States and another 40 per cent to China, with the rest headed to Europe, other parts of Asia and the Middle East, said Kris Vascotto, executive director of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance.

“When we get that instability and global headwinds in the economy, you’re in a position where you can’t risk taking that (lobster) inventory at a high price,” said Vascotto, whose group represent dozens of seafood companies across Nova Scotia.

“It’s a very difficult time for everybody, from the harvesters to the processors, to the live holders and shippers.”

Michael MacDonald

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2025.