Author: Breanne Clarke, CSCIP
New Brunswick’s lobster industry is a cornerstone of the Atlantic Canadian seafood economy and one of the province’s most valuable commercial industries. The fishery is managed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) through a system of Lobster Fishing Areas, each governed by region-specific seasons, size limits, and effort controls designed to sustain lobster stocks while supporting economic viability across coastal communities. Lobster remains Canada’s most valuable seafood export, worth more than $2 billion annually, making the integrity of governance, reporting, and traceability systems critically important.
Despite the structured governance, significant challenges persist. In 2024, a DFO internal memo quoted in a CBC news article estimated that between 10% and 30% of lobster landings in Atlantic Canada may go unreported annually. This level of underreporting potentially represents a yearly average of $429 million in undocumented product, undermining both the sustainability assessments and economic transparency. Unreported catches often stem from cash sales at wharves that bypass official reporting requirements, creating data gaps that distort stock assessments, weaken enforcement, and create inequities among fisheries that comply with reporting rules (Cuthbertson, 2024). More recently, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt has proposed more stringent catch-reporting measures in response to financial and regulatory risks associated with industry fraud. Overall, these changes show a weakness in the system that affects not just local fisheries management but also access to international markets, where proper documentation and proof of sustainability are becoming more important.
Export data published by Statistics Canada display that Atlantic Canada’s lobster export values continue to rise (Canada, 2024). In 2024, Canadian lobster exports were estimated at $2.94 billion, up from $2.63 billion in 2023, reflecting strong global demand despite domestic market volatility. Other international markets, including Belgium, China, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, and the United Kingdom, demonstrate broad international demand for New Brunswick lobster.
Canada’s seafood export sector remains highly concentrated. Just two markets, the United States (68%) and China (16%), accounted for 84% of Canada’s $8.1 billion in fish and seafood exports in 2024. This concentration exposes the industry to heightened vulnerability amid geopolitical tensions, trade disputes, and shifting tariff regimes. The risk of such exposure became evident in 2025, when China imposed a 25% tariff on Canadian lobster. The resulting decline in demand from a major trading partner placed downward pressure on prices and increased cost pressures throughout the supply chain.
Despite these vulnerabilities, Canada’s seafood sector is well-positioned for market diversification. Canadian lobster is widely regarded for its quality relative to global competitors, providing a comparative advantage in markets with growing import demand and increasingly stringent sustainability expectations. As trade tensions persist between the United States and the European Union (EU), tariffs have negatively affected EU demand for U.S.-sourced live lobster, creating a strategic opportunity for Canada to expand its market share. Capturing value in demand-driven opportunities will depend not only on supply capacity but also on Canada’s ability to demonstrate regulatory credibility, sustainable practices, and full product traceability in a price-sensitive market.
The European Union is among the world’s largest seafood markets and relies on imports for approximately 70% of its seafood consumption. In response to concerns over illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, the EU has introduced a new digital catch certification system (CATCH), which took effect on January 10, 2026. As part of the broader European Ocean Pact, CATCH is designed to safeguard marine ecosystems, support sustainable blue-economy growth, and protect coastal communities. The system adds to the use of the captain’s certificates, replacing paper-based catch certificate systems with a fully digital platform, standardizing how catch data is recorded, verified, and shared between exporting countries, EU importers, and national control authorities. This transition improves fraud detection, strengthens enforcement, and reduces the likelihood of illegally harvested seafood entering the EU market.
Within this evolving regulatory environment, Atlantic Canada’s lobster industry faces increasing pressure to strengthen traceability and data integrity across the supply chain. The persistence of unreported landings highlights limitations in existing reporting and enforcement mechanisms and demonstrates the need for more integrated, system-wide approaches to documentation and verification. As important trading partners move toward mandatory digital traceability, exporters who can’t provide consistent, verifiable data may lose access to high-value markets.
Amid these challenges, opportunities emerge. One possible solution is to use whole-chain traceability frameworks based on the Whole Chain International Standard (WCIS). By creating a consistent way to document everything from harvesting to processing and exporting, WCIS could make reporting more reliable, cut down on unrecorded transactions, and help with better stock. Aligning reporting practices across vessels, buyers, processors, and exporters may also enhance regulatory credibility and facilitate compliance with emerging international import controls. WCIS traceability offers a mechanism through which Atlantic Canadian fisheries could strengthen governance, improve transparency, and support a triple bottom line approach, balancing environmental sustainability, economic resilience, and social equity for the coastal community’s livelihoods.
References
Brown, L. (2026). Tolls, closures, increasing fees: N.B. government unveils options to combat rising debt. Retrieved from CTV News New Brunswick: https://www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/new-brunswick/article/tolls-closures-increasing-fees-reducing-the-civil-service-nb-government-unveils-options-to-combat-rising-debt/.
Canada, G. o. (2024). Canada’s Fisheries Fast Facts. Retrieved from Government of Canada: https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/stats/publications/fast-facts-info-eclair/2024/index-eng.html
Chase, K. (2025). China hits Canadian seafood items, including lobster and crab, with 25 percent tariff. Supply & Trade. Retrieved from Seafood Source: https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/supply-trade/china-hits-canadian-seafood-items-including-lobster-and-crab-with-25-percent-tariff
Cuthbertson, R. (2024). Federal memo estimates up to 30% of lobster catch in Atlantic Canada goes unreported. Retrieved from CBC News: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/lobster-unreported-catches-dfo-atlantic-canada-1.7375126
Fisheries, D.-G. f. (2026). The European Ocean Pact. Retrieved from European Commission: https://oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu/european-ocean-pact_en
Institute of Innovation and Advanced Learning. (2026). Whole Chain International Standard. Retrieved from Institute of Innovation and Advanced Learning: https://iial.ca/product/whole-chain-international-standard-2025/