Canada: Cape Breton lobster fishers report catches from record level to low, prices middling

SOUTH BAR, N.S. — The lobster catch was extraordinary off much of Cape Breton this season, but other harvesters weren’t as lucky. According to some fishers the Cape Breton Post spoke with, catches were up by at least 25 per cent in 2024 compared to last year. A major factor for that, they said, was favourable weather — with warm water temperatures and fewer lost days to adverse conditions. The areas with the strongest catches came off Cape Breton’s west and northeastern shores. Closer to industrial Cape Breton though, at least one harvester said his catches were down. “It was not too bad in the first three weeks of the year, but then it dropped off significantly,” Paul Fraser, who’s fished out of South Bar for 47 years, told the Post on Thursday while unloading traps with his crew. He guessed catches in and around where he fishes in Sydney harbour were down “at least” 30 per cent. He wasn’t sure why catches dropped, despite welcoming good conditions throughout the season. “Whether ...