Dire Strait - The decline of Lobster Fishing Area 25

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	Main > In their own words

In their own words
CBC News Online | Sept.3, 2004

Ron Cormier

"We've gone from catching 20,000 to 25,000 lobster in 10 weeks, to where we're barely skinning 5,000 pounds. So, it has taken a tremendous drop."

Ron Cormier
President - Maritime Fishermen's Union
Moncton, February 2004

Michel Comeau

"From our analysis, there's still quite a number of females being fished before they can put eggs on their tails and be legally protected from the fishery."

Michel Comeau,
Lobster biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Moncton, August 2004

Danny Skerry

"They know it’s been going down every year, but they don’t do enough and now they fished all the biggest lobsters out with the big traps."

Danny Skerry
He has fished lobster in the strait for most of his life.
First day of the season, 2004

Jeff Sheidow

"You pull up to a boat and the first thing they say is, 'Do you want to buy gear?"

Jeff Sheidow
Enforcement officer with Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Northumberland Strait, Aug. 25, 2004

Sandy Seigal

"This is a complex issue. It's developed over a number of years and now we're in a situation where it's going to take us a number of years to get out of it."

Sandy Seigal,
Maritime Fishermen's Union
Moncton, February 2004

Michel Richard

"Our fishermen are very unhappy because of the lobster stocks diminishing, but most of our members are in favour of measures that will try to keep them in business for years to come."

Michel Richard,
Maritime Fishermen’s Union
Grand Barachois, N.B. First day of the season, 2004

Alcide Arsenault

"I think the lobsters have been fished out. I think those big traps have done us out. ... You're just about desperate, and when you're just about desperate, you're going to try and get all the lobsters you can."

Alcide Arsenault
Lobster fisherman
Cape Egmont, P.E.I., August 2004

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External Links:
Lifecycle of a lobster, from the Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library

All about lobsters, from the Gulf of Maine Aquarium

History of lobster fishing and processing in Northern Novas Scotia, also from the Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library

The state of Canada's lobster fishery - 2002 Fact Sheet, Department of Fisheries and Oceans

Atlantic lobster fact sheet, from Agriculture and Agri-food Canada

AVC Lobster Science Centre, UPEI

Comparison of Nova Scotia fish exports (2001)

( CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites. External links will open in a new window.)

Sept. 3, 2004: Ian Petrie looks at what has to be done to save LFA 25. (runs 4:12)

Sept. 2, 2004: Ian Petrie examines the environmental pressures at play in LFA 25. (runs 4:09)

Sept. 1, 2004: Erin Moore looks at LFA 25 from the enforcement side, aboard a DFO boat. (runs 2:33)

Aug. 31, 2004: Ian Petrie profiles a couple of lobster fishermen, from the New Brunswick and P.E.I. shores of LFA 25. (runs 3:46)

Aug. 30, 2004: Erin Moore gives an overview of the problems facing fishermen in LFA 25. (runs 4:02)

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