Don’t worry. I’m not going to discuss Chaos Theory. However, the notion that an event on one side of the globe could have impacts everywhere else is appropriate for today’s post.
Scallop Season ended locally last night (after a 1 week extension) although they can go up to Saint John and continue. Most will now be transformed into a Lobster Fleet again. There is a major fly in that particular ointment unfortunately.
I think I’ve tried to describe the process of catch them/sell them to middlemen/store them in tanks/sell them to customers around the world. There are some people who do more than one of those steps – they might fish for lobsters and buy from others and store them in giant tanks for sale to markets overseas.
When the American and Chinese governments started putting tariffs on goods going both ways there was a positive impact on the local fishermen. Americans couldn’t sell their lobsters to China and had to look for other markets. Canada filled the void. Sales have been so successful that the Halifax Airport was expanding its capacity to handle the increase in shipments.
Enter the Coronavirus. Airlines are stopping flights. Buyers have seen their market dry up. The price of lobsters has dropped significantly. I’m not saying the health issues aren’t the most important part of this horrible situation. I’m just pointing out that everything that happens everywhere has consequences.
One man I know on Grand Manan has two giant tanks of lobsters and is being offered $2/pound less than he paid for them. That’s a huge loss.
This will spill over onto the spring season and affect the price offered to the boats and the incomes for all the men crewing them. It will also affect the price of bait and the herring fishery. It could be devastating. Certainly there’s not a lot of positive feelings down around the Harbour.
The world is messy, but I don’t want to depress anybody. So I’m going to end with a video that made me laugh. If you’ve ever cooked anything you’ll be convinced this must be satire. I don’t think she’s that good an actress – if she is then she deserves an Oscar. 🙂
This Fundy Migrant's Tale 