Lobster fishermen protest over prices ends in New Brunswick

A protest by New Brunswick lobster fishermen over low prices appears to have ended on Monday, while fishermen in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia kept their boats tied up.

Fishermen in New Brunswick's zone 23 were back on the water again, hauling up traps in the Escuminac and Caraquet areas.

Alain-Paul Thériault was among them. They felt they had to go out, he said.

"We’re trying to get a few lobsters because we have to pay for our licences," he said in French, noting a lobster licence is not cheap.

They also have to log enough hours to qualify for employment insurance, said Thériault.

"It was not nice out there today, but we have to go fishing," he said.

Fishermen along New Brunswick's northeast coast started protesting prices last week, joining their colleagues across the Maritimes.

The price that brokers are willing to pay varies across all three provinces but ranges between $2.75 and $3.75 per pound for canner lobster, and between $3.25 and $4 per pound for market-sized.

Many fishermen say that with the rising costs of fuel and bait, settling for anything less than $5 per pound is unreasonable.

About 1,000 fishermen in P.E.I. continued to refuse to go out on Monday, along with about 450 in Nova Scotia.

Lobster season in New Brunswick ends on June 30. It's unclear whether fishermen will stay on their water until then. Officials with the Maritime Fishermen's Union could not be reached for comment.