The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN fishermen suffered a 45 percent price drop during the now-closed crawfish season, it was disclosed yesterday, although strong catch volumes offset some of the fall caused by market “overcorrection” and higher global supply.

Paul Maillis, the National Fisheries Association’s secretary, told Tribune Business that increased competition from Latin American and African fisheries industries was largely responsible for depressed crawfish prices during a season that closed on April 1.

“In terms of production it was a really good season. I’ve seen a lot of fishermen have done very, very well. The only difference between this year and last is the price of the lobster, and so it was challenging for a lot of fishermen, especially the beginning of the year with all of the uncertainty,” Mr Maillis said.

Higher fuel prices also exacted a toll on Bahamian fishermen, raising their costs at the same time as crawfish prices dropped. “That put a lot of pressure on fishermen who had planned for a continuation of good prices and made investments accordingly,” Mr Maillis added.

“The unfortunate realisation that came at the time of the opening of lobster season was the price was going to be substantially lower - critically lower - than it was before in the past two years.” Crawfish sold at an average $20 per pound in 2021-2022, but fell to $11 during the past season.

Mr Maillis said “it was much worse on the Family Islands”, which were at the mercy of exporters who dictated prices because “they have greater leverage on the fishermen” there. He added: “Because of the great prices that have been in existence over the last two years, a lot of new parties have entered the fishing industry, especially in other jurisdictions like in South America and other places in the Caribbean.

“So there was a general glut in the market, which drives prices down. Another theory is that there is a bit of overcorrection from the buyers for the hit they took last year for the high prices. We also have the possibility that some of our original competitors came back into line, like the South African lobster producers and the California coast lobster producers, the Australian lobster producers.

“Those places were under strict lockdowns during COVID-19 and that impacted their ability to produce. We were open for business throughout almost the entirety of COVID-19. So it could be a correction of the overall price, just based on the supply coming back to normalcy.”

Mr Maillis said it was a “tough pill to swallow” when fishermen are getting lower prices per pound for lobster, and exporters and processors are selling it at often-times triple the price they bought it - sometimes $50 per pound in parts of the US and Europe. “That’s the problem with when you have a free market. The market determines the price, and there’s no there’s no controls about a minimum or maximum price that can be offered to fishermen,” he added.

“On one hand, that’s a good thing that there’s no maximum price. Because if the price explodes and we’re able to get $30 a pile, then we will take it you take it.”