Many of us enjoy a good lobster dinner and travel to the coastal cities for the real experience. I live on Cape Breton Island, where fresh lobster is abundant. On the first day of the season, in mid-May of last year, I asked my local dealer the difference between “Canners and Market Lobster.” His response helped me understand the history of lobster fishing on Cape Breton Island and what lobster to order.
This particular fisherman and friend has deep family roots in the lobster business, fishing for over 80 years off the eastern (Atlantic coast) of Cape Breton, in the Breton Cove area. His land adjoins mine, so I can see his lobster country as he cruises up the coast starting at 4:30 am every morning, usually May through mid-July.
My cottage in Breton Cove sits alongside his acreage off which his family fishes, as they have done for years, with each lobster territory marked on land with colorful signs visible from the ocean below the cliffs of Cape Breton. . He is a good storyteller and over afternoon tea he told me something about the history of lobstering and his family, mostly mink farmers and fishers. (His father of his was a farmer and mink fisherman, a large man, nicknamed “Johnny The Mink”, but that’s another story.)
Here are some highlights of a Cape Breton lobster story from a Cape Breton fisherman:
1 The native Mi’kmaq were the first to fish for lobster. They made big bonfires on the beaches and used the lobster for ceremonial purposes.
2. The lobster market began around 1880 or 1890.
3. Around 1900 a fellow from Yarmouth opened a cannery and the money didn’t change hands. All family members, including the children, worked in the cannery. Their labor was traded for “luxury” items such as flowers and sugar and “other items not readily available and unknown to the community.”
4. During this period, there were no rules and the fisherman could catch any size lobster caught in a trap. He could also catch females, even with eggs.
5. Changes in fishing practices began in 1910. The commission had come here to the island to talk to the fishermen…set some rules. That all the females that had eggs would have to stay in the water and there’s also a minimum size… so there’s a chance of reproduction.
This is how the term “conservatives” came about. “Conservers” were lobsters big enough for the cannery. The larger ones are called “market” lobsters, they sell for more money due to size, and are sold locally or to dealers.
In the past, almost all lobster was exported. In fact, it was mostly canned and shipped by train to Boston or Toronto. To Cape Bretonians, lobster was considered “junk” food. A boy or girl walking to school wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or, better yet, bologna. They would rather throw a lobster sandwich into the bush out of embarrassment, according to Merrill, than be seen with him in public. It wasn’t exactly the luxury item it is today.
But now tourists flock to Nova Scotia from all over the world to enjoy and photograph the scenery along the famous Cabot Trail and to eat Nova Scotia lobster and other seafood. There’s even a lobster festival in Cape Breton called “Lobsterpalooza.”
So, which is better: the preserves or the lobster from the market? It’s all the same lobster meat, it’s just a matter of size. Your choice depends on how hungry you are!