Lobster industry requires short-term investment: union

Lobster fishermen need a short-term investment from governments to revive an ailing industry that is being hard hit by the global economic crisis, said the executive secretary of the Maritime Fishermen's Union.

Between 300 and 400 jobs have been lost in northern New Brunswick, mainly in the fish processing sector, Christian Brun said on Tuesday.

Lobster fishermen are getting $2.75 a pound due to the collapse of the market, representing some of the lowest prices in decades.

Brun said the federal and provincial governments haven't paid enough attention to the issue in the past few years and now it's up to them to help lobster fishermen deal with the crisis.

"It's going to take some short-term support to get through this. How do we do that?" Brun said.

"Well, that's why we've called for an urgent meeting with governments to talk about it. It could be existing programs that could find a way to help fish harvesters break even."

Brun said failing to come up with a short-term plan to save the faltering industry could have severe implications for workers.

"If there is no intervention at all we're looking at the possibility of massive bankruptcies, so we can't estimate what would happen there," Brun said.

Brun said the province will see more problems once the southern New Brunswick season starts in August.

N.B. has no plans for immediate financial assistance

The provincial government has no immediate plans for providing financial assistance to the lobster industry, according to Fisheries Minister Rick Doucet.

Instead, Doucet said New Brunswick is looking to ensure long-term sustainability for lobster fishermen.

"There's no silver bullet. There's no something that we can do today," he said. "The work that we are doing is for the long-term."

The province said only the federal government can help lobster fisherman with short-term financial assistance.

Peter MacKay, the senior Atlantic Canadian cabinet minister in the Harper government, said recently an aid package should be available soon.