Lobster Fishing in Prince Edward Island, Canada

The

Lobster Fishing industry is one of the 3 main industries of PEI, and it is evolved over the years. In the beginning, anyone could buy a Lobster license for a very minimum cost and start fishing lobster with no lobster trap limit. Later it changed, in that, to get into the Lobster Fishing industry, you had to buy a license from an already established lobster fisherman, and there evolved a lobster trap limitation - three hundred traps only allowed. These are two major changes to the PEI Lobster Fishing industry.

The local PEI lobster fishermen usually make their own traps in the winter season. These traps can be shaped like a semicircle or sometimes they are square in shape. The nylon heads of the traps are also knit by the fishermen although the mesh cannot also be purchased in bulk sheets of nylon heads. New lobster traps are dipped in a black solution to take the newer smell from them so they fish lobsters better. Cement is place into the bottom part of the lobster trap to make sure that on opening day, they sink to the bottom of the lobster grounds property, you wouldn't want your lobster traps to be floating on top of the water. Fishermen paint their buoys in the winter season and they are numbered usually from 1 to 50(2 of each number) with 6 traps to each two buoys to give the set amount of the PEI Government at 300 traps. The rope is also overhauled in the off season to make sure that is it still strong, and if there are knots in the rope from the previous season, these knots are spliced to give a better rope for the coming lobster season. Some PEI fishermen add a Cat Walk to the nylon heads to make it easier for the lobster to enter the two front rings of the lobster trap.

On opening day the traps are taken to the local fishing wharf, and are tied to the rope and buoys to be ready to be loaded aboard the fishing boat for transportation to the various lobster grounds that surround the beautiful province of Prince Edward Island, Canada. There are different lengthe of seasons in PEI, the eastern part fish lobsters in May and June only. The lobsters are sold locally to the Lobster processing plants and plant workers process the lobsters. Some of the large market lobsters are shipped away live to be sold in restaurants, etc.

The 300 lobster traps are hauled every day on PEI except Sunday. They are baited with mackeral , herring , red fish, etc to allure the lobsters to enter them.

The PEI Lobster Fishing industry has added to the Prince Edward Island economy over the many years of its existence, and looks to be vibrant for many years to come. This strong economic stimulus from the lobster industry has also made the PEI Real Estate market a dynamic force in PEI.

George Jordan, Red Soil Real Estate Inc., http://www.buysellpei.com