Horsemeat scandal could help lobster prices

The spring lobster season on P.E.I. opens in a month and the P.E.I. Fishermen's Association is optimistic prices will be up, partly because of a horsemeat scandal earlier this year in Europe.

Association president Mike McGeoghegan said fish sales are up significantly in the European Union, mostly due to a scare there where horsemeat was found in some dishes and products labeled as beef. McGeoghegan said more consumers are turning to fish products as a result.

"This European issue with that meat scare over there, with that horse meat mixing in with the beef, that has caused fish sales to jump up over 20 per cent in the E.U. So I think there is big optimism out there," he said.

"lt's it's a worldwide market now. Fish is moving all over the world to China, Asia, India, Germany, Brussels — it just goes on and on. So you know we are really optimistic that things are going to be good this year."

McGeoghegan noted some lobster fishermen in Boston have been getting about $10 a pound. Prices have been stuck below $5 a pound at the wharf in eastern Canada for years.