Thank you very much. It's really an honour to be here to represent New Brunswick and to be part of this group that we've been working on since December.
I'm really pleased you've taken the opportunity to listen to us today. Lobster has certainly been a good topic over the last 24 hours here in Ottawa. We're really pleased with the reception we've received. I know a lot of folks did get out to the Atlantic Canada lobster kick-off last night. It certainly was well attended. If you didn't make it, unfortunately you missed out on something good.
With respect to New Brunswick, the fleet has 1,560 licensed enterprises divided between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Bay of Fundy. Our total landings are 6,320 tonnes, or about 14 million pounds. In the spring, we fish in the Bay of Fundy and the northeast part of the province; in the summer, the Northumberland Strait; and in the late fall, the Bay of Fundy.
Our landings have a value of approximately $85 million, but our exports are $364 million. We should clarify that. Only about 25% of what we export is actually landed in New Brunswick. Processors and live shippers in New Brunswick buy lobster throughout New England and other parts of the province. Basically we're the centre of processing activity for Atlantic Canada. We're primarily a frozen lobster producer, with only about 6% of our exports being live in terms of our total value.
Much of our inshore fishery depends on lobster, and that fishery is certainly under a lot of pressure right now. We need some of the short-term relief suggestions that came from the fisheries group, such as the UIC program, just as the minister from Newfoundland mentioned, and whatever other short-term measures there could be, because some fishermen are having a very, very difficult time in key areas. That's basically what has brought us together here. The market has fallen out, and we're seeing the results of this on the wharves and in the shore prices.
Manpower continues to be an issue. It is becoming difficult. There are problems not only on the boats with staffing crew, but also with respect to staffing some of the processing plants. The way the trend is going right now, we see that continuing.
The current revenues are below sustainability, and the new entrants and future of our fishery are being particularly hard hit. The new entrants have borrowed to enter the fishery, and low prices certainly make it difficult for them to support their financial obligations.
What's taking place in New Brunswick? About two years ago, the industry embarked on a fisheries renewal program. We brought all parts of industry together, from the harvesters to the processors and plant workers and marketers. It was probably the largest collection or collaboration of people from the industry in many years. It was our opportunity to bring people out of their silos, from the harvesters to the processors and the marketers, to get a better understanding of what each of us was doing. From there we were able to develop the fishery renewal framework, which charts a clear course for the fishery in the future.
It took a lot of work to get to that stage. We were able to gather the stakeholders to determine what direction we needed to go in. The areas they wanted us to focus on were the market and market access, and they are where we have invested heavily on the marketing side.
Now we've established the ministers' round table, along with regional forums and regional round tables, and we are collectively working together to reach out to the fisheries groups to determine what direction we need to go.
What we've done as a province is we've brought the Fisheries Development Board back into the Fisheries Department. Currently we're reviewing all the programs available to the industry and we are trying to find out exactly where the gaps are and the possibilities for us to fill in those areas. At least now the department is undertaking the work that's needed to work with this board so we can better assess the needs right on the ground.
As far as ocean to plate is concerned, our future lies in doing a better job of meeting the expectations of our customers. Rather than fish and process lobsters and then try to find someone to buy them, we need to manufacture the lobster products that customers want to buy and then fish to support those products. We have to start with the customers and make sure customers' needs drive our activities at home.
Customers are demanding that fish and seafood come only from sustainable fisheries. You've seen the announcement, two or three weeks ago, with respect to Loblaws, where their sole seafood sourcing is going to be from a sustainable environment. We're not ready. We're not totally ready for that and we have to get there. Of course, we're seeing what's happening in Europe. By January 2010, they'll already be refusing to purchase some of the products because of traceability. So we have to fast-track and get ourselves into the area we need to be.
That's it from New Brunswick, but I understand we'll be talking afterwards and answering questions.