September 22, 2014 — The lobster industry in the Maritimes faces a new competitive threat from south of the border.
People in the industry in Eastern Canadian are watching closely as Maine awaits the outcome of a November vote that could see US$7 million of public money pumped into lobster processing. “The lobster industry in Eastern Canada dwarfs the industry in Maine, but we are definitely watching this proposal closely,” Jerry Amirault of the Lobster Processors Association of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia said Monday.
The state referendum will determine if the processing industry in Maine will receive the financial support for future growth.
The referendum comes on the heels of a $2.2-million marketing effort last year called the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative.
Both developments are coming into play as the lobster industry in Eastern Canada fights changes to the federal foreign worker program.
“Maine sees the benefits of advancing this naturally sustainable industry and is rushing in when the Canadian industry is threatened,” Amirault said.
“They’re eating our breakfast here.”
A stronger lobster processing industry in Maine has the benefit of more access to foreign workers, something the Canadian industry is losing, he said.
Maine lobstermen caught about 126 million pounds of lobster last year and about 60 million pounds went to Canada for processing, said an Associated Press report in June.
Read the full story at the Halifax Chronicle Herald