Distinguishing Magdalen Islands Lobster

Over the past two years, the prices of seafood has pretty much hit the bottom of the barrel. The price of lobster plummeted from approximately $6.50CDN to $2.50CDN at the wharf. The industry is suffering and the fishermen even more. This makes the price of lobster far less than the price of beef or pork or even process meat substitutes. Lobster is still considered a luxury food.

On the islands, a renewable resource strategy was put in place in the late nineties and has been working well in spite of the lower prices giving the islands an excellent name for high quality, large lobster full of sweet meat. However, although islands lobster are well known through eastern Quebec, it is relatively unknown throughout the world as Islands lobster gets mixed into the fray.

What is relatively unknown to the world is that the lobster in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence is living in an environment that is fed great quantities of cold, fresh water coming down the Saint Lawrence Seaway. This water is mixing with the salt water from the Atlantic giving the density of salt around 50% normally found in lobster waters. This gives Magdalen Islands lobster more of the sweet/salt taste that is generally preferred.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ – Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec) has decided to prepare a marketing strategy to help processors of seafood markets in Quebec and the United States.

The organization, Transformation Alimentaire Québec (TRANSAQ) MAPAQ is leading this important project for the sustainable future of fisheries. With declining prices for seafood, the Associate Deputy Minister and Director General of TRANSAQ, Dominique Fortin, just completed a tour of eastern Quebec.
According to her, two things that must be done are unanimous in the industry:

1.     Strengthen marketing in companies of fisheries and aquaculture;

2.     Increase awareness of marine products from Quebec.

The department plans include improving the tools available within MAPAQ. It also plans to organize meetings between the heads of major grocery chains in Quebec and industry. Through various means, MAPAQ will present more marketing of seafood products from Quebec.  

"Everyone is in agreement with the fact that among seafood transformation companies, we must strengthen the marketing function," she said.

Magdalen Islands Lobster

Cape Dauphin Fishermen's COOP in
Grosse Isle

The Fishermen's Association’s of the Magdalen Islands also has the MAPAQ support in their efforts to have an eco-certification and traceability of the islands lobster.

According to the deputy minister, the law on naming rights of the origin of food would distinguish Islands lobster from lobster of Eastern Canada and the world.


"The islands lobster is recognized within Quebec as Quebeckers want. Outside Quebec, there may be other people who want it too. We must distinguish it from other lobster," she says.


Negotiations are under way to adopt a new name for next season.

There Will Be No Exploration For Oil and Gas In Sections of the Gulf

The government of Quebec took the stand, late last week, that there would be no exploration or operating activities for oil or gas in the basin of the estuary and north-western Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Deputy Premier Nathalie Normandeau said that"in light of the results of the first strategic environmental assessment, we can already confirm that the basin that includes the Estuary and the north-western Gulf of St. Lawrence is too complex and fragile. "

"From the Isle of Orleans to the island of Anticosti, many of the communities are dependent on tourism-related activities or the commercial fishing and it is out of question for our government to develop a new industry to the detriment othesr already existing ", argued Ms. Normandeau.

The government is now awaiting the report of the second strategic environmental assessment in the fall of 2012, that covers the basin of the Bay of Chaleur, the Anticosti Basin (northern Gulf of St. Lawrence) and the Magdalen Basin (southern Gulf of St. Lawrence).

Once the report is submitted to the government in autumn 2012, "Consultations with Aboriginal coastal communities, and the  island of Anticosti basin, Madeleine and the Bay of Chaleur will take place," said Minister Normandeau.

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is to supervise the conduct of exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons in the marine environment.

"The SEA does not replace the work of the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (BAPE). Instead, it serves to establish the background which could be carried out against studies of environmental impact on specific projects of oil and gas development in the marine environment and which will subsequently be the subject of hearings BAPE ", said the government statement.

According to estimates, up to 2 billion barrels of oil could be drawn beneath the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, at the reservoir of oil and natural gas at the Old Harry site, which is the subject of a dispute between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.