Lobster populations remain healthy around the Maritimes, but the numbers are dropping

CITYnews halifax \ By The Canadian Press

The federal Fisheries Department has released a series of reports that indicate lobster populations around the Maritimes remain in good shape.

But climate change may be playing a role in a recent downward trend.

Adam Cook, a research scientist with the department based in Halifax, says lobster numbers started rising around 2010 and peaked a few years ago amid strong demand for the crustaceans.

Even though most populations appear to have shrunk in recent years, Cook says the numbers remain strong and sustainable when compared to before 2010.

As a result, Cook says the department does not have any conservation concerns, which is good news to an industry that exported $3.26 billion worth of product in 2021, beating the previous record of $2.59 billion set in 2019.

Almost all coastal communities in the Maritimes are involved in the inshore lobster fishery, which now has 3,000 licence-holders employing about 7,500 fishers.