My name is Norman Ferris and I'm a scallop and lobster fisherman from district 36.
Our industry is no different from potato farming or wood harvesting. We are all working with resources where consumer demand drives the price. Like them, we face the challenge of high costs for fuel, bait, gear, and equipment. We use the best technology to keep up with the times—state-of-the-art wire traps and electronics, bigger boats. We are catching more lobsters than ever and seeing more juvenile lobsters. The lobster stock is strong.
As entrepreneurs, our goal is a profitable and sustainable fishery. Measures to protect our stocks are as follows: V-notching female berry lobsters, trap limits, escape hatches, seasons, and measure control.
When there is a downturn in the economy, the first thing omitted is the luxury items such as lobsters. A drop in demand results in lower prices.
I spoke at three tourist seminars during the summer of 2008. There were usually 30 people at one sitting, and they're all Americans. They are interested in our fishing and how we catch lobsters. The most common question asked is, how do I tell if a lobster is fresh? They told stories of ordering lobsters in restaurants and finding very little meat in the shells. They said that had been their last order of lobster, either at a restaurant or fish market.
The practice of holding lobsters in a pound for four to five months and then selling them as fresh is degrading the quality of the product provided by the fishermen at the time of sale. If there was some way to mark the lobster with the date it was bought from the fisherman—even the month—this might hasten the product's going to the market and strengthen consumer confidence. The lobster is held to raise the price, sometimes to four times that paid to the fisherman, all the while deteriorating the quality and marketability of the product.
Dealing with buyers hasn't changed since the 1970s. We don't know the price we will be paid until the lobsters are piled on the wharf. It is never told until then. Back in 2006-07, some buyers had the lobsters three days before fixing a price.
We need a strong voice in tourism to promote our lobsters, both for the tourists and our fellow New Brunswickers. Let's discuss the situation we find ourselves in today. Our biggest market has been the United States, but their economy is severely depressed, with millions unemployed or living under the threat of lay-offs. It's not a good situation for lobster prices this spring.
How can our government help? Here are three suggestions.
One, if sales are so low that the EI requirement is not met, make an allowance to ensure income for the off-season.
Two, subsidize the price, and at the end of the season the fisherman applies, based on his sales slips, and the buyers have no input, claim, or control.
Three, establish a board or committee to control mark-up of fresh lobsters in the stores. For example, $3.75 is paid to the fisherman; $11.75 is charged to the consumer. Free enterprise is being abused.
The bottom line is demand. If we can increase the demand here at home, it will help stabilize the market.
Thank you.