Season scheduled to wrap up tomorrow night

A3

Charles Perry

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Wind has been a persistent problem this year for southeastern New Brunswick's lobster fishermen.

Michel Richard of Shediac, an organizer for the Maritime Fishermen's Union, said the fishermen in LFA (lobster fishing area) 25 have been telling him that the problem has not been the severity of the winds but rather the consistency.

"They have been telling me that there has been a lesser number of severe periods of wind," said Richard. "But there have been many more days with some wind throughout the season."

LFA 25 runs up the Nothumberland Strait along New Brunswick's east coast from Cape Tormentine north to the Pointe-Sapin/Escuminac area. The lobster fishery began in the zone on Aug. 9 and is slated to wrap up Friday at 9 p.m.

Even with the remnants from a few tropical storms this summer, Richard said the fishermen have experienced no major storms that "completely interrupted" the current lobster season.

But the steady presence of some wind, especially prevalent in the past month, has forced the fishermen to decide most days whether it is too windy to go out that day or not, said the MFU spokesman. If they determine it is, then, for safety reasons, they wait until tomorrow, he said.

"For most of October, almost every lobster fisherman in LFA 25, each day, has had to weigh fishing activity with wind activity," he said.

The past two weeks, said Richard, the fishermen have only been able to go out about every three days because the winds have been too heavy. However, they are expected to die down tomorrow, he said, adding this will hopefully provide them with good fishing for the final day of the season.

Long-time lobster fisherman Ron LeBlanc explained earlier in the season that the winds churn up the bottom of the water. The lobsters respond, he said, by simply not moving or moving very little until the water settles down again. This can amount to anywhere from a few days to several days depending on how heavy the winds are and how much they "mix up" the bottom material, said LeBlanc.

Richard said the weather always plays a key role in the success of the lobster season, but it is not the major culprit in what is shaping up to be another discouraging season in the central to southern half of LFA 25.

Richard said the economic problems in the United States are resulting in a decreased demand and lesser prices being offered for the lobsters. (For more on the lobster season, please see NEWS/A9).

* Charles Perry's weather column appears daily.