Listen to this article
Estimated 3 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
If you head to the grocery store, you might notice a Nova Scotian staple missing from the fresh fish section.
Haddock has been in short supply after the federal government reduced the fishing quota in some areas off parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick this spring to help preserve future stocks.
Even when haddock becomes available in stores again, it will come at a steeper price due to higher fuel costs that make fishing, packaging and shipping more expensive.
Justin Comeau, co-owner of BCD Fisheries in Little Brook, N.S., said Georges Bank, one of the most important fishing grounds, will open for the season on June 1, which should bring more haddock to market.
“Typically you’ll see the price of haddock go down with some volume hitting the market,” said Comeau. “This year, we may see something different. The price might creep down a little bit, but probably not as much as it did in previous years.”
Georges Bank, where the quota has been reduced by 36 per cent, is closed to fishing during the early spring to protect spawning fish.
;Resize%3D796)
Bernadette Robicheau, known to her customers as the Fish Lady, sets up at different spots from Dartmouth to Truro selling fresh and frozen fish out of her cargo trailer.
She estimates that 90 per cent of people who come to her are looking for the traditional Nova Scotian favourite.
“We haven’t had fresh haddock for the last four weeks,” she said, adding that she is now only able to get frozen haddock, which she is selling at $13 per pound.
Her fuel costs have increased an estimated 25 per cent, Robicheau said.
She said affordability is important to both her and her clients, many of them regulars she knows by name. She hopes once Georges Bank opens up again, the increase in fish landings will make the price go down.
“I raised a family of three kids and I know how important it is,” she said. “It’s very expensive to eat anything these days, and people are turning to seafood for the nutritional value as well.”
;Resize%3D796)
Delores Woodley, one of Robicheau’s customers, said she and her family eat haddock once a week.
“My partner, he’ll fry it. He’ll put it in some kind of batter and fry it. But I like it baked in the oven,” she said, adding that she loves its taste and how it keeps her diet balanced.
However, she has not been able to find fresh haddock, choosing to buy salmon instead on her latest visit to Robicheau’s trailer.
As a retired nurse and veteran living on a fixed income, Woodley said the price of food matters a lot.
“The prices are up everywhere, for all our groceries. It’s getting more and more difficult,” she said.
Meanwhile, Comeau said businesses like his are pivoting to other species, including pollock, to compensate for the reduced haddock quotas.
MORE TOP STORIES
