Setting day marks the start of the spring lobster season on P.E.I.

Brian McInnis | for CBC News

May 4, 2021

After three days of postponements due to the weather, the spring lobster season finally got underway with the traditional setting day Tuesday.

Ports from North Cape to East Point had to hold back until 9 a.m. instead of the usual 6 a.m. but ports on the South Shore went at the usual 6 a.m.

Fishermen could not ask for a better day for the start of the season and the beach around Malpeque was lined with people waving at the boats as they passed. Boats from Malpeque and Darnley along with mussel harvesters use the channel so it can get congested.

But all lobster lovers take heart, the first of the tasty crustaceans should be in the stores Wednesday. Prices will not be known until the buyers get to the wharfs.

A mussel harvesting boat is sandwiched between lobster boats as they all head out of Malpeque Harbour Tuesday during the opening day of the P.E.I. lobster season. The day is traditionally called setting day. (Brian McInnis/CBC)

A lobster boat sails past the red sandstone cliffs bordering Malpeque Harbour as it heads out into the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the opening day of the lobster season. (Brian McInnis/CBC)

The Freda V sails past the dredger that is clearing the mouth of Malpeque Harbour. The harbour tends to get filled with sand and the dredger needs to clear the channel for the safety of the fishermen heading to and from the lobster grounds. (Brian McInnis/CBC)

The captain of the Against the Wind takes his boat through the Malpeque Harbour channel Tuesday during the opening of the P.E.I. lobster season. (Brian McInnis/CBC)

People walk along the shore at Malpeque Harbour to watch the annual parade of boats as they head out to the Gulf of St. Lawrence Tuesday. (Brian McInnis/CBC)

Boats leave the wharf at Malpeque Harbour and head out to the lobster grounds. (Brian McInnis/CBC)

The Channel Runner, loaded with approximately 150 lobster traps, heads toward the Malpeque Harbour channel. (Brian McInnis/CBC)

Boats play follow the leader as they head out of the harbour and then through the channel. (Brian McInnis/CBC)

One fully laden with its second load of traps, a lobster boat leaves the Malpeque Harbour wharf as another boat is still being loaded with the second set. (Brian McInnis/CBC)

Noah Stanfield, left, and Allan Irving load traps after going out earlier in the morning to set the first load Tuesday at Malpeque. (Brian McInnis/CBC)

It was a beautiful morning after several days of wind and rain that delayed the opening of the P.E.I. lobster fishery until Tuesday. (Brian McInnis/CBC)

Loading and setting lobster traps is a labour intensive job. The traps have to be first put on the wharf in a specific way and then loaded onto the boat in a specific way. This is done to prevent the ropes and buoys from being tangled when being put in the water. (Brian McInnis/CBC)

The ropes attached to the traps have to be tied in such a way it is difficult for anyone to get their feet tangled. Each trap weighs upwards of 60 pounds which could easily drag an unwary deckhand overboard. (Brian McInnis/CBC)

The channel out of Malpeque harbour is well marked and it can get congested with lobster boats and mussel harvesters going back and forth. There is a dredger working to deepen the channel, but fishermen say that almost as soon as sand is pumped out, it begins to refill again and that makes it dangerous especially for boats laden with heavy lobster traps. (Brian McInnis/CBC)

Brian McInnis

Brian McInnis is a Charlottetown-based freelance photographer.

Besides CBC, he has done photo work for The Canadian Press, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Tourism P.E.I., City of Charlottetown, Downtown Charlottetown Inc. and many other national newspapers and magazines.

You can find more of Brian’s photos at brianmcinnis.ca.

He can be reached at brianmcinnis@eastlink.ca or on Facebook.

Setting day marks the start of the spring lobster season on P.E.I.

Brian McInnis

Related stories