It was the summer of the lobster this year as the benefits of the seafood staple were touted during a recent four-city promotional tour of Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto. According to reports from novanewsnow.com, the Newfoundland and Labrador government contributed $24,000 to the $440,000 national initiative that was also supported by the fishing industry, other Atlantic provinces and the federal government. “While Atlantic Canadians are generally very well aware of the benefits of our superior lobster product, the purpose of this program was to create awareness in the rest of the country,” said Tom Hedderson, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. “It has been a difficult year for this particular sector, as a result of the problems experienced in the North American restaurant sector. However, lobster is an excellent product with a wide range of possibilities for cooking at home.”
During the promotional tour, chef Ray Bear of Bear Restaurant in Halifax, developed recipes and prepared lobster salads, lobster sushi and lobster scalloped potatoes at lobster luncheons.
The industry is extremely valuable to Newfoundland and Labrador. According to the report from novanewsnow.com, the province’s fishery is valued at $29.8 million annually and has 30 per cent of the lobster licences in the Atlantic Canada fishing sector.
