“I think everybody’s pretty well happy with it,” said Ron Heighton, president of the Northumberland Fishermen’s Association. “Overall the catches are up for everybody.”
Although the “cold and miserable and windy…” weather has made for some uncomfortable fishing conditions, Heighton said, the positive side is that the cooler water temperatures may serve to maintain good harvests through the completion of the season at month’s end.
“It’s making the season last a little longer, I think,” he said.
Fishermen were not as pleased over a price drop in what they receive for their lobster, however. Although the prices started out at $7.50 for market-sized lobster and $7 for canners, they recently dropped to $7 and $6, respectively.
“Which is quite a substantial drop, Heighton said. “It was a substantial drop in canner price. We’ve never seen that before in our life, a whole dollar at once.”
Nonetheless, with Father’s Day coming up on Sunday and the fact that the season for the 1,700-boat lobster fleet in Southwest Nova waters has ended, he expressed optimism that things should remain stable for the rest of their season.
“So the price should stay up as far as we’re concerned.”