Eastern Canada’s seafood industry faces uncertain future after Fiona, market turmoil

Recovery efforts from post-tropical storm Fiona continue in Eastern Canada, where thousands of lobster traps have recently been recovered in the Northumberland Strait.

Canadian harvesters and processors were hit hard in mid-September 2022 when the storm slammed into Canada's east coast, leaving thousands without power and causing nearly USD 500 million (EUR 512 million) in insured damages, according to one estimate, the CBC reported.

The storm resulted in widespread losses for local fishery and aquaculture industries, which were already coping with this year’s crash in lobster and crab prices.

Describing the storm as “massive and historic,” New Brunswick, Canada-based Lobster Processors Association Executive Director Nat Richard said government and fishery stakeholders are continuing to assess the damage to fisheries caused by the storm.

“I think it’s going to be a work in progress in the sense that governments are still trying to wrap their heads around the scope of the damage,” he said.

In early October, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced USD 220 million (EUR 225 million) in funding to assist recovery efforts.

“This funding will support projects to repair and rebuild storm damage to critical infrastructure, such as wharves, support the cleanup of fishing gear so that boats and marine life can once again safely navigate these waters, and of course, help local businesses and communities rebuild and recover,” Trudeau said.

At the provincial level, the government of Prince Edward Island has provided financial relief to the industry through its provincial disaster financial assistance program (PDFAP), while launching surveys to assess damage to the seafood industry.

“There are thousands of island residents whose livelihoods depend on our seafood industry, and the results of these surveys will help us and the federal government design support programs to help industry get back on their feet,” PEI Minister of Fisheries and Communities Jamie Fox said.

However, some industry stakeholders are saying the funding announced thus far is not enough to cover the damages caused by the storm.

P.E.I. Seafood Processors Association Executive Director Jerry Gavin said the CAD 300 million (USD 218 million, EUR 224 million) in federal funding likely won't come close to covering the recovery effort, according to the CBC. 

Over half of the small craft harbors in the path of Fiona in Atlantic Canada and Quebec sustained damage, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

To highlight their losses, PEI-based processors spoke at a government committee hearing in October.

Gavin said large amounts of mussel and oyster seed was lost, on top of damage to processing plants and infrastructure. One processor reported having lost 40,000 pounds of lobster, the CBC reported.

The association estimates preliminary losses for PEI’s industry alone will top CAD 70 million (USD 50 million, EUR 52 million).

Losses were widespread across the Canadian Maritimes. Neil’s Harbor-based Victoria Co-operative Fisheries  in Nova Scotia lost a section of its plant after it was pummeled by a storm surge and eight-meter-high waves, the CBC reported.

In New Brunswick, fishing was underway in an area known as LFA25 when Fiona struck, resulting in huge losses of gear and unsold product. According to one estimate, tens of thousands of lobster traps were lost, costing roughly USD 220 (EUR 225) apiece.

“A lot of fishermen lost their catch,” Maritime Fisheries Union General Director Pierre Dupuis, who heads the organization’s science branch, said, though he noted the union had recently recovered 2,500 traps.

The union made a request to the DFO for a three-day extension to the season to compensate for lost fishing time, but the request was denied, Dupuis said.

“They did lose quite a few days of fishing due to Fiona,” he said. “After that they were trying to recover their gear and find out where it landed.”

Losing fishing days has added costs to the the financial ledgers of fishermen already dealing with economic headins, Dupuis said.

“When you lose a few days, you know what it is, it’s the bottom line," he said.

Canada's federal government has since announced further funding, with an announcement on 3 November allocating up to USD 21 million (USD 20.9 million) for the retrieval of ghost gear in areas directly affected by Fiona.

Dupuis said initial assessments are showing no major effect on stocks, but it could be a while before any impacts to the region’s fisheries are revealed.

“We’ll have to find if there are any effects from the hurricane,” he said. “That will take a few years.”

With fishing set to resume next spring, the industry has time to recover and rebuild critical infrastructure, such as wharves. But it remains to be seen if market conditions will improve to help stakeholders recoup losses.

Both Dupuis and Richard said prices remain low for product – a continuation of this year’s crash in lobster in crab and a sharp dip from prices commanded in 2021, when the industry achieved record exports.

Richard said crab fishery closures in Alaska and the continued role sanctions on Russian exports will affect pricing further and contribute to unpredictability in pricing and supply.

To add to the mix in the aftermath of Fiona, he said, more attention is now being paid to the increasing probability of destructive weather.

“The whole industry is focused on thinking about what this means going forward, and being more resilient in terms of infrastructure,” he said. “It’s clear we're going to be dealing with more-significant weather events.”

Overall, Dupuis said, price fluctuations and devastating weather have made it difficult to predict what the future holds for fishermen in the region.

“We’ll have to see how this all plays out,” Dupuis said. “I don’t think we’ve ever had a year like this.”  

Photo courtesy of the Office of the Governor General of Canada/Sgt Mathieu St-Amour, Rideau Hall