Lobster fishermen leave Port Medway early on a November morning to set their traps. (Rick Conrad)

The Canada-China trade deal may be only a few days old, but it’s already having an effect on what lobster fishermen are getting for their catch, according to South Shore-St. Margarets MP Jessica Fancy.

“I’ve been talking to some of the executive directors for some of the different lobster associations in the area and they’re saying as quick as (Sunday), the price has been starting to go up. So they’re seeing this as a huge win.”

The Liberal politician spoke to QCCR on Monday about what the deal means for South Shore lobster and crab fishermen.

About $540 million worth of lobster was caught in the lucrative fishing grounds along the South Shore and around southwestern Nova Scotia last year.

And with the crab industry accounting for another $300 million, Fancy says that protecting those industries is vital for the area.

“Anytime you can get a better price, and not have to be dinged with the tariffs, that’s a good deal for me.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed an agreement on Friday that would immediately reduce seafood tariffs to 15 per cent from 25 per cent. 

And on March 1, the tariffs on lobster and crab are set to disappear altogether. The deal lasts until the end of this year. The deal also affects canola, peas, steel and aluminum.

In exchange, Canada will drop its 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles and allow 49,000 into the country each year.

“I was in Shelburne on Saturday night at one of the volunteer firefighter smoker events, and when I stood up to give my remarks, I had five or six men stand up and clapped for me in regards to the tariffs, and I had to stop for a second because I thought, ‘Wow, I, never thought I’d get a standing ovation in Shelburne County’, but it spoke to the importance of that deal, and the hard work that we’ve been doing, since October, in regards to trying to secure it.”

Fancy said she and her provincial counterparts, as well as representatives from the fishing industry, pushed the federal government to get a deal done.

Rick Perkins, the former MP for South Shore-St. Margarets, criticized the deal on his Facebook page. He called Chinese EVs “government-made spy machine cars” and questioned what happens to seafood tariffs next January.

“In regards to the term ‘spy machine’,” Fancy says, “I mean, we’re probably both holding a cell phone right now. So it’s kind of null and void and it’s unhelpful rhetoric in regards to the trade deal or what we are allowing in or out of the country.”

Fancy says the Canadian government plans to take the next nine months to continue talking trade with China, to try to get a longer term deal done.

“I’m going to use the analogy, as an educator, you know, when you have people in the playground, and they get upset with each other, and they have a fight, and you bring them in and you talk to them, you’re not going to repair that relationship overnight. So you’re not going to put in these lock and step long-term deals. You’re going to wait and look at how that relationship redevelops.”

She said she’ll travel to Ottawa later this week for Liberal caucus meetings where MPs will get a look at the deal in more detail. But she said she hopes this is just the beginning of more trade for South Shore fishermen.

“We’re seeing this as a huge win. … And it paves the way to resolve some of those long-standing trade barriers that were affecting different sectors.”

China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the United States. The government says it wants to increase exports to China by 50 per cent by 2030.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Pam Wamback holds copies of Lucy the Lob’Star, the kids’ book she officially launched this past weekend as part of Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl. (Rick Conrad)

On the same weekend that Lucy the Lobster saw her shadow, her star was set to rise a little higher thanks to a new book about Nova Scotia’s second most famous weather forecaster.

First-time author Pam Wamback officially released the kid’s book Lucy the Lob’Star on Saturday, the day before Groundhog Day. 

It’s about the clairvoyant crustacean who crawled into the international spotlight in 2018, challenging Shubenacadie Sam for supremacy among wildlife weather watchers.

In real life, Lucy is the official mascot of the Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl, a month-long festival every February celebrating Nova Scotia’s biggest seafood export.

“It’s a book for kids of all ages,” Wamback told QCCR. “A really tough one to learn to read on, but you know, for kids from 2 to 92. We’re all kids at heart, right?”

Featuring fun illustrations by Chad Thompson, Lucy the Lob’Star follows Lucy as she pops her head out of the ocean one day in her home waters of Barrington, and meets Gilbert the Groundhog. 

Gilbert is looking to retire as the local once-a-year weather forecaster, but he can’t find a replacement. So Lucy volunteers.

“It’s my take on how Lucy became famous,” Wamback says. “She’s not like any other lobster. She’s different. There’s always different lobsters. There’s blue lobsters, there’s calico lobsters. Lucy was different, but she just wanted to be famous. She just wasn’t sure how it was going to happen, and a chance opportunity came along, and the moral of the story is that change is scary, but so is staying the same.”

The book has been out for just a month, and Wamback says she’s amazed by the response.

“It’s been fantastic, because like I said, this is a passion project for me, a personal passion project for me. I’m not an author, it’s not my full-time job, but I also wanted it to showcase the destination of Southwest Nova (Scotia) and in particular Shelburne County.

“It’s my home, right? In the back of the book there’s also a little bit of fun facts about lobsters to educate people, and also creating awareness about Shelburne County, and Barrington as the lobster capital of Canada, the Lobster Crawl Festival, and the Shelburne County Lobster Festival as well.”

Wamback, whose full-time job is in communications with Tourism Nova Scotia, has been involved with the lobster crawl since it began in 2018. Her passion for lobster is reflected in her website, Lady Loves Lobster.

“Growing up near Shelburne, I’ve been surrounded by lobster my entire life. Growing up in a lobster community, lobster family.

“Publishing a book was never on my radar, I’m not a writer, I’m the organizer, the planner. I was just kind of playing with an idea, and it kind of grew from there. … So finally last year, I was like let’s see what happens, cast the net and fast track about a year and a half later and here’s Lucy the Lob’Star.”

Wamback has promotional events lined up in Mahone Bay, Shelburne and Bridgewater over the next few weeks. 

“Lucy, I’m probably one of her biggest fans. The real Lucy the Lobster, she’s an international superstar. She’s been on CNN, she’s been on blog posts across Europe, she’s been in the Miami Herald. So we need to celebrate her and showcase her, and that’s kind of what I want to do. I’ve got some people that keep saying, ‘What’s your next book?’ I’m like, ‘Next?’

“I never anticipated one, but who knows? Like I said, I never expected one, so you never know. ”

Lucy the Lob’Star is available at bookstores around Nova Scotia or online.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Star Donovan, manager of special events for Mersey Seafoods, stands in front of the company’s Scallop Shack, which opened Monday at their location on Bristol Avenue. (Rick Conrad)

Residents and visitors to Liverpool can now buy Mersey Seafoods’ world-famous scallops right from the factory on Bristol Avenue.

The company opened the Scallop Shack in a tiny guardhouse in its parking lot on Monday morning. 

Star Donovan is Mersey Seafoods’ manager of special events. She said Monday that response so far is good.

“It’s been busy since we put the sign out considering no one even knew we were going to do this. We just put the sign out by the road this morning, and it’s been flat out busy.”

Since the company opened its new building in 2019, many residents were hoping they would also open a retail facility.

Donovan said that until now, they couldn’t do that.

“Since Covid, we have had our doors locked. Prior to that, we used to sell five pounds of scallops to the community when they wanted them. The president of our company has chatted about being able to offer scallops again to the community so we decided we’d go with the Scallop Shack.”

The Scallop Shack will be open year-round, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be selling two different sizes of scallops – 10 to 20 scallops per pound or 20 to 30 scallops per pound.

You can buy them in a one-kilogram or a five-pound bag. Prices range from $37.40 for a kilogram of smaller scallops to $90 for five pounds of larger scallops.

Donovan said that with tourist season underway, it’s a good time for the new venture, especially since it’s difficult to find local seafood in Liverpool.

“I think it’s great, but I kind of figured it would be. We have calls every week from people, ‘Can we buy them, can we buy them?’ I know the community are happy about this and excited, and so am I.”

Mersey Seafoods is also celebrating its 60th year in business this year. And to help celebrate, the company will be putting a float in the Privateer Days parade for the first time, Donovan said.

“The girls in production decided they were going to put a float in the parade this year and so we’re all excited about that, having the Scallop Shack open. You never know what’s to come. We’ll see.”

Scallops sold by Mersey Seafoods are sustainably harvested from the Atlantic Ocean and freshly frozen at sea. 

The company also sells coldwater shrimp and redfish or ocean perch. But Donovan says they will be selling only scallops at the Scallop Shack.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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