HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s lucrative seafood industry is bracing for market upheaval as it deals with the effects of tariffs imposed by China and awaits an identical 25 per cent duty from the United States.
China’s tariffs on Canadian seafood took effect March 20, while the U.S. duties are expected to kick in on Wednesday.
Stewart Lamont, managing director of Tangier Lobster Company Ltd., on Nova Scotia’s eastern shore, said the lobster sector is “incredibly anxious” as it waits to see how prices are affected. Lamont’s company exports live lobster to 13 countries around the world.
“People are nervous,” he said in an interview Friday. “We have received more calls than normal from dealers on whether we would be interested in buying lobster from them this spring.”
Lamont said demand is currently high despite China’s tariffs because of a lack of lobster on the market ahead of the upcoming spring seasons.
“There are not so many lobsters available and the vast bulk are not going to China, a number have gone to America before potential tariffs kick in on April 2,” he said, adding there has also been some interest from buyers in Europe, elsewhere in Asia and the Middle East.
But Lamont said the wharf price for lobster, which currently sits at around $15 per pound, is likely to drop once the U.S. tariffs are in place and new catches are landed by fishers increasing supply. Spring seasons begin in areas such as Nova Scotia’s eastern shore and Newdoundland’s west coast on April 20.
“So we expect a price adjustment down from $15 eventually, and rather significantly,” he said.
According to the federal government, China is Canada’s second largest fish and seafood export market after the U.S., with $1.3 billion in products shipped to the Asian nation in 2024.
Nova Scotia government figures for 2024 show 52 per cent, or $1.2 billion of the province’s seafood, was exported to the U.S., while another 26 per cent or $614 million in exports went to China. Lobster alone accounted for $541.8 million in exports to the U.S. and $458.7 million to China.
Meanwhile, Osborne Burke, general manager of Cape Breton-based seafood processor Victoria Co-operative Fisheries Ltd., said the pending U.S. tariffs are particularly concerning to the crab fishery because of the heavy reliance on the market south of the border.
Burke said he took a telephone call Friday from a seafood broker who advised him that the price of crab would be 25 per cent less if the U.S. goes ahead, meaning a price drop of around $2.25 cents a pound. Fishers are currently getting about $6 a pound.
“It will have a significant impact,” he said.
The crab season off northeastern Cape Breton is underway, while Burke’s company is waiting for the fishery to start in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Tuesday, and in waters off the northern tip of the island on April 10.
He said the crab industry needs to continue work to diversify its markets, although a significant shift won’t happen in the immediate future.
“We are looking at three to five years,” he said of his company. “We are typically 35 per cent in Canada and 65 per cent or so in the U.S. and I’d like to reverse those percentages.”
Crab is another of Nova Scotia’s largest exports, with the vast bulk - $158 million worth - shipped to the U.S. market last year, while another $16 million went to China.
Other significant seafood exports from the province include scallop, halibut, clams, shrimp and sea cucumber, a niche product that primarily goes to China.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 29, 2025.
Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press
