Sign of the times
P.E.I. lobster industry struts its sustainable stuff for customers

What’s it worth to the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association to have its lobster sector certified as a sustainable fishery?

Enough that the Association has invested $60,000 to $70,000 in an attempt to become a Marine Stewardship Council certified sustainable fishery.

The word “sustainable” has become an overused buzz term in business circles. But it’s also an important marketing tool for businesses, and it can potentially open up new markets as well as prevent current markets from being closed off to them.

In the case of the lobster fishers the Association represents, executive director Ian MacPherson says big retailers like Loblaws now require the seafood they buy to come from certified sustainable fisheries. “We don’t want to see some of our traditional customers not available to us,” says MacPherson.

The Marine Stewardship Council is a London-based organization dedicated to ensuring the world’s oceans are not overfished. In order to be certified as sustainable by the Council, fisheries must be able to demonstrate their fishing activity is at a level that can be continued indefinitely; fishing operations must be managed to maintain the structure, productivity, function and diversity of the ecosystem; and they must comply with relevant laws and have a management system that’s responsive to changing circumstances.

MacPherson says the Association’s lobster fishers were already doing many of the things the Council looks for when it certifies a fishery as sustainable. But being certified by an outside party can’t hurt the reputation of the province’s lobster fishery.

As this magazine went to press, MacPherson expected P.E.I.’s lobster fishery to get the Council’s sustainable seal of approval by December. When that happens, could it mean better prices for P.E.I. lobster, as customers pay more for a product that is being caught in a sustainable way? “We’ve been careful not to have any expectations with this,” MacPherson says. “We’re proud we’ve got a sustainable fishery. If it helps us get a better premium in the marketplace and expands markets, that is great.”