The Canadian lobster fishery typically runs from the end of April to early July in the Gulf of St Lawrence from vessels under 45 feet, across 4 fishing zones set by the Department of Fish and Game.

As offloads begin to arrive, the best time to buy would be May-June, and again in November and December for Chinese New Year celebrations, which come from the fishery running from August to October in area 25.
The most abundant size last season was 300-350 and 350-400 gram on whole cooked lobster.

Other popular lobster products are raw tails, often distributed across North America to casinos and grocery stores depending on size, and cooked lobster meat products.

Tails are often sold with the Claw and Arm, which is why many buyers choose the Claw and Arm to ensure they get the tail - the most valuable part of the crustacean.

--- Processing plants on the East Coast of Canada receive the live lobster and are live cooked in the plants.

Pricing in Halifax last season approached $6.00/lb, varying by about 5 percent throughout the season.

Some processors speculate pricing to drop slightly this season but we do know that Chinese buyers are saying prices must be lower than $6.00/lb CIF China to be accepted.

--- Earlier last year there was quite a lot of market saturation in China as US Lobster sales flooded the market.
This brought the market price down considerably until later in the year when the Tariffs on US goods restricted imports, creating an opportunity for Canadian processed Lobster.

As the season gets underway be sure to check back on the 3-Minute Market for pricing trends and the best time to buy.

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