U.S., Canadian lobster fishermen gather for ‘cordial’ conference amid volatile trade market

Many of the East Coast’s lobster fishermen are in Moncton this week for an annual conference called the U.S.-Canada Lobster Town Meeting.

More than 200 attendees have come from across the Atlantic Canadian provinces, as well as Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts for the event, which alternates location between Canada and the United Stated each year.

“It's the one time of year we get to sit with our American colleagues, everybody at the same table, lobster buyers, exporters, importers, academics, fish harvesters,” said Luc LeBlanc, a fisheries advisor with the Maritime Fishermen’s Union.

There are several different sessions over the two-day conference, allowing attendees to discuss everything from climate change and the environment to scientific developments in lobster fishing, to global trade and tariffs.

“The topics will change every year, but one of the common threads is that it really is a place for industry to just sort of talk about what's on our mind, what's going on in our fisheries,” said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.

Despite some tensions between Canada and the U.S. in other industries, McCarron said there’s no room for that here.

“Maybe if you read the headlines, you might think there are tensions,” she said.

“But I mean, from Maine Lobstermen's perspective, we've been meeting with Canadian fishermen through the Fisherman and Scientists Research Society, through the Lobster Town Meeting, actually doing exchanges … So for us it's very cordial.”

Many of the fishermen at the event have the same experiences, despite their regional differences, said LeBlanc.

“This year, obviously, is a challenging year, especially for markets and market access,” he said. 

“But we also have a lot of environmental issues in common … U.S. fishermen and Canadian fishermen have the same problems by and large.”

During Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to China in early January, he signed a trade deal to remove 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian lobster imports in exchange for Canada lowering tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

“Since the China deal, the price went up for lobster, about 20 per cent. So that's a major boost to fishing enterprises and fishing communities across the Maritimes,” said LeBlanc.

But Americans are still facing tariffs in China.