Lobster Boat Coming Home



Lobster Season
Every year in this end of the Province the lobster boats go out in late November to put their traps out and begin the season in an annual tradition known locally as Dumping Day – the first day the traps get dumped into the sea. The season here peaks in December for the holiday season lobster dinners, and then ends today – the last day of May. In other parts of Nova Scotia the season is different, and in that way there are always lots of lobster to be had on one’s table whenever you wish.
Lobster season here, though, is more than a tradition, it is part of the lifeblood of the community. A car dealer once told me he could tell how good the season was by how many pick-up trucks he sold in early December, and that business spirals throughout the economy. When I was teaching in Lockeport, the lobstering was so pervasive, the school board always made sure that dumping day was an in-service day for the teachers because few kids would be attending that day anyway – they were all out helping the family on that important first day of the season.
The lobster boats are now coming in for the season, and the calmness of May is a far cry from the battering storms that occur here in winter and limit both catches and the ability to haul one’s traps – it’s a tough job, and not for the faint of heart.
The results are worth it for many of us though who love to eat lobster – either in a hot lobster sandwich, or a chowder or best of all cracked right out of the shell with a side of butter and maybe a side of some bread and salad. Many folks who come here agree, and the highlight of many people’s trip to Nova Scotia is a lobster boil. That’s a family lobster tradition– and the way we prefer to eat ‘em.
Here’s hoping the lobster boats around these parts all get back in safely, and rest up for next fall when they start it all over again.