Maritimes to pitch lobster to China

New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island are teaming up to sell lobster to China.

The two Maritime provinces currently send most of their lobster to the U.S., but with the slumping U.S. economy, that market isn't as lucrative as it used to be.

So they're turning to China, which only buys about one per cent of the region's lobster, said Louis Arsenault, director of the business development division of the New Brunswick Department of Fisheries.

Officials believe China could become a lucrative market since the Chinese already eat a lot of seafood and are getting richer, he said.

'We have identified some restaurants that are willing to promote Canadian lobster, so we have a series of promotions happening in China.' Louis Arsenault, New Brunswick Department of Fisheries

A major push will begin in May, when the season opens.

About 50 chefs from China's top restaurants in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong will be getting courses on how to prepare lobster.

"We have identified some restaurants that are willing to promote Canadian lobster, so we have a series of promotions happening in China," said Arsenault.

The biggest challenge will be to convince the Chinese to buy frozen lobster, he said. There's a cultural tradition of restaurants and even street vendors having aquariums or holding tanks to store their product before it is served.

"It is a culture and an education to show chefs and importers that the frozen product that we have here in Canada is high quality and comparable to the live that they're used to eating for many years," Arsenault said.

Chinese food journalists will also come to the region in May to see how lobster is caught, prepared and eaten.

Industry hit hard

If the new marketing efforts are successful, they would help protect prices for fishermen, Arsenault said.

Lobster prices in the region dipped to below $3 a pound last season, a 20-year low and below the break-even point, according to many fishermen.

Some resorted to alternative ways to turn a profit, listing their catch in local newspapers and on the online classified site Kijiji, or selling direct to consumers off of wharves and out of trucks.

The low prices also sparked protests from many Maritime lobster fishermen and forced the federal government to unveil a new $65-million plan to help Atlantic Canadian fishermen in June, with $15 million of that fund earmarked specifically for the lobster industry.

In October, the newly created Lobster Council of Canada was unveiled. The council, made up of representatives from fishermens' groups, processors and lobster buyers in Eastern Canada, was established to develop an international market for Atlantic lobster and improve the prices for the industry. It has a two-year budget of $370,000.

And in February,$417,000 was announced for Atlantic Canada's lobster industry to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy. Ottawa is contributing $352,000, while the four Atlantic provinces and Quebec are providing a combined total of $65,000.