Lobster fishermen could miss out on Mother's Day sales

The president of the Lobster Processors Association of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick says lobster fishermen may miss out on Mother's Day sales because of delays opening the season.

Jerry Amirault, president of the Lobster Processors of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, said Mother's Day has traditionally been a big day for lobster sales.

"Particularly in the local market and of course in the United States market, the typical supermarkets put on sales for live or what we call whole-cooked lobsters and we may, with no southern gulf season opened, we may miss that," he said.

Amirault said the problem is ice in the southern gulf as well as the northern part of P.E.I., stretching to New Brunswick and Cape Breton.

"There's been an awful lot of ice still in the harbours, it hasn't broken up," said Amirault."It's just starting...we need wind as well as weather to move the ice around."

Amirault said the delay is disappointing news for harvesters.

"A lot of people in the Maritimes like going down to the wharf and buying that lobster directly from the fishermen, that first taste of the spring lobster," said Amirault.

Amirault said he couldn't estimate how much money could be lost because of the delay, but he said Mother's Day has always been big for business.

"If the fisherman can't fish, their immediate loss is they haven't got their traditional Mother's Day at the wharf," said Amirault.

"The second thing is in the supermarkets, I don't know where they're going to get their lobsters for Mother's Day if there is no season opened because southwest Nova [Scotia]may be able to supply some, but they're getting toward the end of their season. Their season ends the end of this month."