The Eastern Canadian offshore lobster fishery takes place in Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 41, off the coast of southwestern Nova Scotia. Clearwater currently operates in this fishery, specifically around the edges of George’s Bank and the Eastern Scotian Shelf, to the west of Halifax, landings from LFA 41 represent less than 1% of total Canadian lobster landings.
The offshore fishery is subject to a total allowable catch (TAC) of 720 t annually, accounting for less than 1% of total Canadian lobster landings. The TAC is set by DFO to ensure sustainable removal levels based on regular scientific assessments of the resource in LFA 41.
In 2020 Clearwater and the Membertou First Nation announced a historic strategic investment in the sustainable and well-managed offshore lobster fishery. Membertou, a Mi’kmaq band in Unama’ki – Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia purchased two of the eight offshore lobster licenses and 25 per cent of the quota. Membertou and Clearwater have an operating agreement that sees the Randell Dominaux continue to harvest the TAC in LFA 41. Membertou financed this investment through a loan from the First Nations Financing authority. The government did not fund this transaction.
The LFA 41 fishery operates on a quota system, giving Clearwater the flexibility to target our harvesting when catch rates are highest and lobsters are at peak quality. Whereas, the inshore fisheries operate under a different management approach, managing removals indirectly by limiting the season and number of traps in those fisheries. Egg-bearing females and juvenile lobsters are not retained in any Canadian fishery. Clearwater avoids retaining lobsters at the times of year when they are soft or newly moulted. If these lobsters are caught in traps, they are returned alive, so they can continue to contribute to the overall health of the ecosystem.
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit organization dedicated to recognizing efforts to protect oceans and safeguard seafood resources of the future. It is an independent body that uses science, information, and rigorous review to award certification and is regarded as the seafood industry’s gold standard for third-party verification.
In June 2010, the Eastern Canadian offshore lobster fishery was the first on the Eastern seaboard to be certified under the MSC standard. The fishery remained certified for over 10 years, successfully passing annual external audits and two full recertifications. Due to internal resources required to support recertification, the small lobster volumes from this fishery, and other business considerations, it was decided to not recertify the fishery in 2020. While the offshore fishery voluntarily exited the MSC program, the sustainability measures that were in place for 10 years of successful certification continue to be in effect. The fishery continues to be a model for sustainable fisheries management where quality and value are maximized and waste is minimized.
Clearwater does not participate as a harvester in the inshore lobster fishery. We do purchase lobster that is harvested by independent inshore lobster fishermen. While the Clearwater brand is well known and respected, our actual purchase volumes are a small component of the overall industry. We purchase approximately 3% of the total Canadian landings.
We do however play an important role as a quality and innovation leader in lobster, as an example we pioneered dryland pound holding systems 30+ years ago and they are now widespread in the industry. Likewise, we pioneered HPP processing technology which is growing in importance. Similarly, Clearwater has an important role as in market development for lobster, we are typically the first Canadian company to open new markets and develop the routes to market, expanding demand and building the value for the whole Canadian lobster industry.
Clearwater exports live lobster to 30 countries around the world. In 2019, Clearwater exported approximately 3 million pounds of live lobster, representing just over 2 per cent of total Canadian live lobster exports. The majority of Clearwater’s live lobster is air freighted out of the Halifax International airport, accounting for 12 per cent of the 25 million pounds shipped through the airport in 2019.
Built in 1988, the Randell Dominaux joined Clearwater’s fleet in 2009 and was named after a well-respected Captain with 18 years in the Clearwater longline and lobster fleets. The overall length of the vessel is 40.6 m (133 feet), its beam 9.00 m (29.5 feet) and has a gross tonnage of 599 t. This is the only vessel harvesting lobster in LFA 41.
The average trip length of the Randell Dominaux is eight days.
The Randell Dominaux has a crew of 17 employees per trip. A total of 33 crew rotate trips throughout the year.
For more than a decade, Clearwater modernized its lobster harvesting fleet and introduced significant harvesting efficiencies. Better use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), bottom mapping and historic data analysis facilitated the reduction of the number of vessels required to harvest the quota. The Randell Dominaux provides a safer platform for crew members and operating only one vessel has helped reduce Clearwater’s carbon footprint.
Due to its large size and unique hauling equipment on board, the Randell Dominaux can haul ‘trawls’ of gear in sets of 100. A lobster ‘trawl’ or ‘string’ is a way of configuring the gear so that groundline runs between traps along the bottom, connecting them to each other. At each end, the trawl is marked with a buoy at the surface, from which a line runs to the last trap at the bottom.
Clearwater incorporates weighted line into both the buoy lines and the groundlines to mitigate gear snarls and reduce the risk of entanglements with marine life in the water column. Gear rigged in trawls of 100 have far fewer buoy lines to the surface than would be in shorter trawls of 20 or in single-sets used in the inshore fishery. Please watch this animated video for a visual demonstration.
Clearwater has implemented Geographic Information System (GIS) technology on board the Randell Dominaux to significantly improve efficiency and reduce the vessel’s carbon footprint. Using this technology, since 2013 Clearwater has also managed to reduce the number of lobster traps from over 10,000 to 5,000.
By understanding and targeting the highest catch rate areas, Clearwater can capture its quota with fewer traps, resulting in an overall reduction in fishing gear deployed and fewer vertical lines in the water. Less gear in the water reduces the risk of gear conflict, lost gear and whale entanglements. In addition, with greater efficiency comes lower levels of bycatch. According to the DFO science reports, non-lobster bycatch has declined significantly from 2008 with the decrease in number of vessels and increased focus on areas of highest catch. There is currently no bycatch species that comprises more than 1% of the catch.
