New Brunswick Lobster Fishermen in Jeopardy Due to Record Breaking Season

While there have been some of the largest lobster catches in northeastern New Brunswick this year, local fishermen are starting to get a bit nervous that they are going to be left holding the majority of the product.

Even though lobster season is only halfway through, many lobster brokers have already stopped buying, while others are basing their purchases on strict daily quotas. That is because even with lobster catches hitting record-breaking numbers, the shortage of processing plants has made it impossible to handle the workload.

Some veteran lobstermen say they haven’t witnessed anything like this in more than 30 years in the business, and they are concerned how such an fishy anomaly might impact their bottom line.

“Two buyers, they quit buying for the rest of the season. There's a lobster plant in St. Simon who's closed for the rest of the season too. My buyer until now said, ‘We're going to buy your lobster day by day,’” said one fisherman.

Fishermen are reporting that brokers are only buying half of their daily catch, and with just about a month left in the season, they are fearful that other brokers will be forced to do the same.