Lobster boats, loaded with pots and buoys, head from West Dover, N.S., for the opening of the season in Lobster Fishing Area 33, on Nov. 29.Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press
The lobster season opened today in southwestern Nova Scotia for one of the country’s most lucrative fisheries, after stormy seas held up earlier attempts to start the harvest.
The fleet headed out on a calm morning with blue skies and cool temperatures for the first day of setting traps, referred to as dumping day.
Poor weather last week repeatedly delayed the opening of Lobster Fishing Area 34.
The normal starting day, when the weather co-operates, is the last Monday of November.
After a call went out at 6 a.m. today between fishers, weather forecasters and the federal Fisheries Department, approval was given to head out to sea.
Lobster Fishing Area 34 had landings totalling close to 19 million kilograms last year, worth about $606-million.
Last year, the landings from Nova Scotia’s south and southwestern shores together accounted for about one third of the Canadian lobster catch.
There are 1,659 commercial lobster licences in the two districts.