Lobster Fishery Hit by New Protest

Fishermen, mainly from the Elsipogtog First Nation, started the protest after a boat brought in more than the 800-pound limit of lobster that area fishermen had agreed to recently, reports CBCNews.

People started getting upset. It was very unfair. All of us are capped at 800, some are even less, these guys can bring in whatever they want it upset the whole wharf the whole fisheries, Christopher Sock said.

Some fishermen have a processor in Neguac who has asked them to catch even more.

Antoine Vautour, the buyer for Berry Group, says the plant manager didn't know about the limit.

He thought that it would be all right, with C$1,500. It's not the fishermen's fault, it's not my fault, Mr Vautour said.

Everett Sanipass, a band executive member, said the fishermen would allow the tractor trailer to leave peacefully. But the fishermen would continue to monitor the wharf to ensure the agreement was being respected.

Mr Vautour says some fishermen lost at least C$1,500 of lobsters because they couldn't unload their catch.

Lobster season in eastern New Brunswick started on Monday after fishermen in the area held almost two weeks of protests.

Fishermen had been protesting outside processing plants in the region after learning the plants were processing cheap American lobster. Processors won a court-ordered injunction to keep the protesting fishermen off their property last Thursday.

A deal was struck late last week that would see the fishermen eligible for an extra 50 cents per pound. The processing plants and the Maritime Fishermen's Union would each pay 25 cents.

The deal means processors will pay C$3 a pound for canners and $3.50 for market lobster.