The executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada says the economic effects of the coronavirus in China is further proof that the lobster industry in Atlantic Canada needs to continually diversify.
“Generally, Canada is pretty well diversified, but on the live (lobster) side, we have built a pretty big business in China, so it’s hard to replace overnight, but we’re doing our best to try to move it elsewhere,” Geoff Irvine said in a telephone interview with The Journal.
“There’s still a little bit going (to China), but the large volumes we were sending there have mostly stopped for the moment."
Irvine said the China sales slump has put downward pressure on lobster prices.
“Over the course of time markets go up and they go down, and for different reasons, and this is one of those times.”
Irvine believes the industry is doing what it can in the current situation.
“As everyone knows, Asia-China has been the place where the demand is, so that’s, naturally, where you go. That’s where you get the flights (and) that’s where you get the distribution, because there’s enough volume to make it work," said Irvine.
“It’s hard to pass up a market that has high demand. You can’t blame anybody for doing what they’re done. It’s just a good reminder that we’ve got to stay diversified.“
He added the the coronavirus crisis has hit during a slow time in the fishery in February.
Fishing activity starts heating up again by mid-April, followed by the highest production month outside of December.
Irvine said a committee of the lobster council has been meeting weekly to remain informed on the status of the crisis.
“We try to stay on top of it and try to share information,” he said.
“We’re hoping we can get a handle on this and that we can get back to normal as soon as possible.”
Nova Scotia fisheries and aquaculture critic Keith Bain recently sent a letter to Fisheries Minister Keith Colwell to express the concerns of Nova Scotia lobster fishers.
“People in the fishery industry are worried about the downturn in our lobster exports to China,” he said.
“What has the McNeil Liberal government done to diversify the markets and sustain the industry? We cannot assume this is a short-term blip.”
In a phone interview, Bain said prices do tend to dip some, but not to the three-dollars-a-pound drop some fishermen have been encountering.
Like counterparts in Nova Scotia, Ian MacPherson, executive director of the Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association, is hoping the coronavirus scare will soon be over.
“We’re concerned, certainly, for the people who are affected by this virus at this point, and it certainly is impacting some economies, but we’ve weathered things like this before and we’re confident we can weather this challenge, also.”
He said he agrees on the importance of the lobster industry diversifying its markets.
There is “quite a bit” of capacity in the system to handle product during a slowdown, he added.
“Our hope would be, when things stabilize and improve, that there’s going to be pent-up demand for product," he said.
Bobby Jenkins, PEIFA president, said his association, like everyone else, is keeping track of the situation.
“This thing hits quickly; it can go away just as quickly, and when it does, I’d expect everything to get back to normal pretty fast."
