Lobster fishermen will set traps on Tuesday

Lobster fishermen in southeastern New Brunswick have decided to set their traps when the season opens Tuesday, despite lousy prices.

Fishermen had been considering staying home, but after meetings over the weekend they decided to go out, Christian Brun, executive secretary of the Maritime Fishermen's Union, said Monday.

Staying ashore wouldn't do anything to influence the price of lobster, Brun said, since it is late in the season and demand is already drying up.

"Theres very little negotiating power there, and thats what is extremely frustrating. And, of course, theres talk of not going out fishing, but what would that do to influence this price?" he said.

"In our view, itll be minimal. So, the decision the harvesters have taken is that theres a responsibility from government. We have a provincial government that has remained relatively silent."

New Brunswick Minister of Fisheries Rick Doucet said there are no plans to offer financial aid to lobster fisherman.

He said that 85 per cent of lobsters caught in New Brunswick waters go to theU.S. market, and subsidizing lobster catches would interfere with the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Provincial governments in Prince Edward Island and in Newfoundland are offering help for their lobster fishermen.

Lobsterfishermen are also upset that they were unable to go to sea Monday because the government decided Friday to push back the season openingby one daybecause of a forecast of high winds for Monday.

Noella Richard, a spokeswoman with Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said she sympathizes with the fishermen.

But, she said, signatures are needed from people in three different departments to delay the opening of the season and that's why the decision has to be made on a business day.

It's not something that can be done over the telephone or by email on the weekend, Richard said.

Brun said it doesnt make sense to make such decisions so far ahead of time.

"We have to pressure governments to find ways to take the best decision, even though they may be at the last minute because, you know, this is not really acceptable to take decisions three days in advance with the type of weather we have," he said.

Lobster fishermen in northeastern New Brunswick wrapped up what they described as a disappointing season on June 30,with fishermen making less than $3 per pound.

The union said lobster prices had plummeted more than 30 per cent from last year, making it one of the worst seasons in years.