Rogue wave hits Canadian lobster industry as U.S. moves to increase minimum legal size
CBC
An unexpected decision to increase the minimum legal size of lobster in the United States has appeared like a rogue wave on the Canadian industry, threatening to curtail live exports south of the border.
With total Canadian live shipments worth $545 million in 2022, the potential trade implications was the first item on the agenda in the annual U.S.-Canada lobster town meeting being held in Moncton, N.B., this week.
"Effectively we will not be able to ship a certain size lobster there that we always have. So their action will create an action that we have to respond to in Canada," said Geoff Irvine, executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada.
The U.S. move to increase the minimum legal size of a lobster carapace, or outer shell, from 82 millimetres to 84 millimetres in January 2025 — and to 86 millimetres in 2027 — would create a mismatch in the closely integrated two-way trading between the countries.
The Canadian minimum is 82 millimetres in most of Atlantic Canada and the initial difference would be about the thickness of a loonie coin.
"With the size distribution of lobsters that are landed, that proportion of stock that could fall within that relatively small four-millimetre range could be as much as 10 to 30 per cent of the actual landings in a given year," said Adam Cook, a scientist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).
The U.S. increase was automatically triggered by surveys in the Gulf of Maine, including ones showing a continued decline in the abundance of young lobster.
The threshold only came into effect in May 2023 and was unexpectedly tripped in October.
"We knew we were approaching the number, but we had no anticipation that we were going to trigger it when we approved it in May," says Dan McKiernan, vice-chair of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which made the decision.
He says giving lobster more time to mature and reproduce is behind the measure.
"So a little bit of gauge increase gives you a lot of egg production and that's our insurance against future declines we hope," he said.
The commission delayed implementation until next January for the industry to address trade repercussions and so manufacturers can produce new gauges needed on board fishing boats.
Canadian and Americans attending the meeting agree the next step will be measures that disallow entry of Canadian live lobster below the U.S. new minimum. However, bonded trucks carrying "undersized" Canadian lobster would be allowed across the border for flights from U.S. airports to Asia, McKiernan said.
It was also clear the Americans are unlikely to retreat, leaving Canada with a decision: increase the minimum to meet the U.S. standard or not.
Calgary police have charged a man with defrauding numerous seniors out of about $186,000 in a string of incidents over a five-week period.
A Brampton lawyer allegedly connected to fugitive Ryan Wedding was granted bail Tuesday morning by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Rankin Inlet hamlet councillors recently passed a motion that has had them avoid drinking alcohol for the 12 days leading up to Christmas, with the goal of setting a positive example for the community.
Jason Jacques says he learned a lot about the importance of choosing his words carefully in his first few months as the interim parliamentary budget officer (PBO).
Durham police say a man is dead after suffering multiple stab wounds in Oshawa Tuesday morning.
An internal review of technical outages that caused significant delays at airports and international land borders this fall has exposed critical flaws with the Canada Border Services Agency's IT services.
Two people are in life-threatening condition after being pulled from a house fire in Scarborough Tuesday morning, according to Toronto Fire Services.
Whenever the door opens at the British Grenadier Bookshop, proprietor Steve Douglas doesn’t know who is going to walk through.
A northeastern Ontario potato farmer says he’s shipping more bags of potatoes to southern Ontario to make up for waning demand.
Halifax’s registry of rental properties is now available to the public online, showing what HRM staff believe are the “bulk” of rentals in the city.
A New Brunswick tenant says he’s being pushed out of his rented bungalow as retribution for complaining about his landlord, but his landlord says she’s the victim of an unfair tenancy tribunal ruling that is preventing her from using the unit to house family.
Snow and freezing rain could affect morning commutes on Tuesday, according to a special weather statement issued by Environment Canada.
Daniel Jolivet, 68, had his first taste of freedom this weekend after spending the last 33 years behind bars.