The union representing lobster fishermen in New Brunswick, Canada, plans to ask for an extension to the fishing season in light of the loss of tens of thousands of traps during post-tropical storm Fiona.
The fishing season for Zone 25, which includes fishermen along the Northumberland Strait in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, began on Aug. 9 and was scheduled to end on Oct. 12, said Luc LeBlanc, an advisor with the Maritime Fishermen’s Union.
However, with early reports those fishermen may have lost about half of all of their lobster traps, LeBlanc said the plan is to ask the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for the season to be extended until at least Oct. 15.
“There’s the cost to replace the traps, which is roughly $300 [each], but really the problem is the lobster in the trap — it’s lost revenue,” he said.
Lobster fishermen in southeastern New Brunswick only have so many traps, “and if half the fleet is missing half the gear, it might be a problem to get the replacements in time,” said LeBlanc.
Fiona hit Atlantic Canada early Saturday morning, bringing 100 km/h winds and storm surges to New Brunswick’s southeast coast.
LeBlanc said fishing boats appear to have fared well, with many having been pulled out of the water ahead of time — a lesson learned from Hurricane Dorian in 2019.
Early assessments also indicate the wharves where they land their catches only sustained minor damage.
However, many fishermen didn’t have time to take their lobster traps out of the water, or to take them further out to sea to protect them against the powerful storm surges.