Canada’s Prince Edward Island is a unique place, with a huge passion for seafood.
Our partnership with the community on the Island, who we work with to source lobsters, is based on a shared understanding of the importance of sustainable fishing practices and looking after the ocean.
Lobster fishing is a vital part of life on the Island, with the surrounding cold waters creating the perfect habitat for lobsters. The community uses traditional fishing techniques, and during the lobster season you can see the wooden pots being loaded onto the small inshore vessels. These boats are mostly locally owned and operated, skippered by the owner together with 1-3 crew members; often a family enterprise. The lobsters, when they come in, are processed locally on the Island – employing many more in the community.
The season start is determined by the conditions each year of weather, ice coverage and day of the week, but usually in late April or early May the beginning is marked with “dumping day” which is the local term for when the fleet can first set their pots or traps.
Sustainability is at the forefront of the industry here. The season is short to protect the stocks, and many sustainability controls are in place, pot limits, size of lobster, protecting breeding females, escape hatches for undersized lobsters, weak links in pots and rope, amongst others.
All of our Prince Edward Island sourced lobsters are certified to the Marine Stewardship Council’s high standards, and our fishery team regularly undertake additional work on the Island engaging with fishers, processors and the local government to ensure all products are compatible with the sustainable sourcing ethos that is fundamental to us at Big Prawn.
