More than 600 lobster fishermen on Prince Edward Island's North Shore will be setting more traps than they expected to this season.

David Lewis, of Alberton, said he thought he'd only be putting 290 traps in the water on April 30. Instead, he'll be fishing all 300 as usual.

That's because after a number of votes, Lewis and representatives from 13 ports ultimately decided not to reduce traps this season.

But they will be going ahead with another planned conservation measure: any lobster with a back shell (or carapace) that doesn't fit in the new smaller guage will be going back in the water.

Lobster fisherman David Lewis will be putting out the same number of traps this year. (CBC)"What's going to happen here by going up one millimeter on the lobster is we're going to throw back three to five per cent of our lobsters this year," Lewis said Thursday.

Not everyone agrees with delaying the trap reduction. But, Lewis said that fishing 10 fewer traps this season could have cost each fisherman $3,000 because of low prices.

"I think you have to remember that due to economic conditions, prices of lobsters have basically dropped in half in the last two years,".

Two other lobster fishing areas off P.E.I. have already taken traps out of the water in exchange for federal money. The North Shore fishermen are the last to go through the process.

P.E.I. lobster fishermen unload their catch last year. (CBC)Lewis said there will be fewer traps going in the water next year — but everyone will get to have their say before any final decisions are made.

Jamie Gauthier, a North Rustico fisherman, said it's hard to get consensus.

"Well, it's never easy to get 600 people to agree, no matter what kind of organization it is. But I think everyone's so concerned right now with the price of the catch, the lobsters being at record lows, and everything else that's happened in the market place, that it's really hard to make this type of decision," he said.

North Shore fishermen say they know putting less pressure on the lobster stocks is important for the future.

"I can tell you for one, I've got a lot of years left to fish, and I'm definitely not being greedy," Gauthier said. "I do agree with a reduction, but we want to make sure we make the right decision."

There are three separate lobster fishing areas around the Island, and each was required to submit a conservation proposal to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The department has $50 million to fund those plans and others around Atlantic Canada.

Two other areas along P.E.I .shores have already gone through the process and removed some traps from the water.