Dumping Day: Lobster fishing season begins in southwestern Nova Scotia

As many as 12,000 people set traps to start lobster season in Nova Scotia on Monday.

Monday is Dumping Day – the start of the lucrative lobster fishing season in southwestern Nova Scotia.

Nearly 1,500 lobster boats are expected to set traps from Digby County to southern parts of Halifax County in Lobster Fishing Areas (LFA) 33 and 34.

Fireworks signaled the start of the season in Sambro as crews departed bright and early at 7 a.m.

Loved ones were on the wharf waving crews goodbye and wishing them good luck.

“It’s just a big rush, everybody wants to get to the same spots, so you just try to not run into anybody and hope for the best. Everybody gets along, it’s a good community to fish out of,” said fisher Kyle Clark.

Michelle Henneberry’s husband and son are both fishers.

“My husband’s been doing it for his whole entire life, now our son, and they’re all out on the same boat, so I just pray to God every day that everybody will be safe and make a prosperous season … hopefully they come back at the end of the day,” she said.

The annual Dumping Day is the final Monday of November but is weather dependent.

The executive director of the Brazil Rock 33/34 Lobster Association says fishers are feeling “pretty happy” about the weather conditions.

“In LFA 34, the captains departed an extra hour early this year because there might be a little bit of a puff of wind, perhaps 30-35 knots to the far southern portions of the fishery, which is 50 miles off – it takes a while to get there, so captains want to get there while they still have daylight and calm seas, get those traps in the water safely,” Dan Fleck told Your Morning Atlantic’s Amanda Debison.

Fleck says it takes several weeks to prepare for the start of the season.

“People work on it through the summer and the fall, get all the gear ready, all the traps, all the bait, prepare the bait, get it ready to go, load equipment, groceries, and vessel maintenance,” he said.

“And then they’re training, there’s safety drills, make sure everything’s prepared to go because we don’t want any surprises on this day.”

Fleck estimates there are 10,000-to-12,000 people on board the boats Monday.

Fleck says fishers couldn’t ask for a better day.

“There’s a weather safety protocol, where port representatives and DFO get together and if it needs to be adjusted, the season will be adjusted, but today it’s good, conditions are perfect, it’s very calm, negligible winds,” he said.

‘A high-risk job’

The province says it is encouraging crews to keep safety top of mind while fishing.

“Heading out in the cold and darkness, exposed to the elements and the power of the sea, makes fishing a high-risk job,” said Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Kent Smith in a provincial news release.

“Safety isn’t optional, it’s essential. We strongly encourage fishing captains and their crews to take every possible precaution to ensure they return home safely to their loved ones.”

All crew members are required to wear a life jacket or another personal flotation device.

Nova Scotia says lobster was the province’s top seafood export by value last year, with exports totaling $1.3 billion.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page