Lobster Industry Improving its Competitiveness

Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Sterling Belliveau announced C$54,000 in funding for the Lobster Council of Canada and the Nova Scotia Fish Packers Association to develop and deliver workshops focused on the Canadian lobster brand.

The workshops are for harvesters, dealers, processors and shippers throughout Nova Scotia. They will be held in the fall of 2012.

"The lobster industry in Nova Scotia is worth C$400 million in export value to our province and is a way of life for many people in our rural coastal communities," said Mr Belliveau. "We must work hard to ensure Nova Scotia has excellence standards for our lobster industry that will be judged favourably by world seafood markets."

Marketability has been identified as a key factor in improving returns. The workshops will help all members of the industry understand the role they play in the lobster value chain.

"The Long-Term Value Strategy for Canadian Lobster, released in 2010, tells us that lobster quality, brand and price are linked together as never before," said Geoff Irvine, Executive Director of the Lobster Council of Canada. "The Lobster Council of Canada welcomes the opportunity to work with the industry in Nova Scotia on these important workshops."

Through the workshops, industry members will look at practices through the distribution chain to achieve best possible results in the market.

"Given the challenges we've seen within the industry in the past few years, the importance of quality handling of our product in developing our brand has come to the forefront," said Marc Surette, executive director of the Nova Scotia Fish Packers Association.

"By educating plant workers and harvesters on best practices for handling such an important natural resource, we can continue to provide global markets with a world-class product that everyone in the industry can continue to be proud of," said Mr Surette.