Boats docked while Mother's Day lobster exports drift away

P.E.I. lobster fishermen will lose out on some of the biggest days for lobster sales with the delayed start to the season. 

Fisheries and Oceans Canada will update fishermen in the Gulf Region on Monday. So far, the earliest lobster fishermen will be able to set traps is Thursday. 

Traditionally Island fishermen see brisk sales on Mother's Day. However, it takes two days to ship lobster to off-Island markets. 

"If we get out Thursday we'd be able to supply the local market.," said Western Gulf Fishermen's Association's acting president Francis Morrissey. "We won't be able to ship anything outside of P.E.I. because you wouldn't be able to purge them long enough. They need to be purged for 48 hours before you can fly them." 

Morrissey said the lobsters are purged before shipping to prevent tanks at grocery stores from becoming foul. 

Fisheries and Oceans Canada delayed the start of the spring lobster season to May 7 because of heavy ice conditions in the Northumberland Strait and harbours in P.E.I.

Morrissey said fishermen could have benefited from the off island sales if the season would have been allowed to open a day earlier on May 6. He added all but one of the harbours in his area had been ice-free for over a week. 

"I'm not sure of the dollar figure, but it's the biggest market of the year, the Mother's Day market, like, for that weekend. Right at the moment the price of lobster is high, and this is why fishermen want to go fishing. They've been looking at snow all winter here," said Morrissey.