Lobster Season - 2008, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Well the lobster traps are in the water again here in 2008; the opening day for the lobster fishermen to put out their traps was May 1, 2008 but it was delayed one day because of some blowy weather; however, the next day, it was "full steam ahead".

The opening of the Lobster season is a big day for many PEI fishermen and their family & friends. Many hands are needed to get the traps from the many PEI fishing wharfs into the boats, and eventually to the PEI lobster grounds.

PEI lobster fishermen can only fish 300 lobster traps; this is controlled by the Federal Fisheries Department in Ottawa, Canada. There are 2 buoys for every 6 lobster traps. These traps are hauled out of the water by hydraulic machines so there is not much manpower needed. The traps are hauled one by one onto the washboards of the boat, they are picked, baited, and then are ready to be placed over again into the water to be hauled the next day. The PEI lobster season lasts 2 months.

Areas such as Montague, Murray River, Murray Harbour, and Beach Point on the southeast part of PEI have a great number of PEI lobster fishermen. Also, places like North Rustico, Naufrage, North Lake, Morell, Grand Tracadie, Alberton, etc. are very much involved in the lobster fishery. It gives a lot of work to the many lobster plant workers, and adds a lot to the PEI economy. Fishing is one of the 3 main industries of PEI.

In PEI, there are no new lobster licenses, a person wanting to get into the lobster industry must buy out someone who is presently a bonified lobster fisherman. This can be quite costly as a buyout can range from $200k and up. But, as long as the fishery is viable, the new fisherman has a good chance to pay off the fleet and have a very comfortable living.

That's it for now...

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