Lobster fishermen, processors agree to deal

Lobster fishermen in southeastern New Brunswick have accepted a processors' price proposal for their catch and say they will go fishing on Monday.

This means processors will pay $3 a pound for canners and $3.50 for market lobster.

In each case, it's extra 50 cents more than what was offered last week — 25 cents will come from the plants, and 25 cents will come from the Maritime Fishermen's Union, which the province allowed to extend its existing loan.

Those topped-up prices are capped, applying only to the first 15,000 pounds per fisherman. After that, it reverts to $2.50 for canners and $3 for market lobster, according to the CBC's Jacques Poitras.

The decision was made at about 10 p.m. Friday after an hour of talks among an estimated 250 fishermen.

For a week, fishermen had been protesting outside processing plants after learning the plants were processing cheap American lobster.

Processors won an injunction to keep protesting fishermen off their property Thursday.

The price was proposed at a meeting Friday afternoon between two small committees representing each side.

Originally, fishermen had hoped for $4 per pound.

The plants had originally put $2.50 for canners and $3 for market lobster on the table.