Riverside Lobster in Meteghan will not re-open.
Parent company Champlain Seafoods announced the permanent closure of the lobster processing facility today.
Operations were shutdown in October due to low catch landings.
The company says they understand the impact of the difficult decision on the local community.
They say a small number of employees are still working there, and will continue work to wind down operations over the next few months.
50 local workers were laid-off in October, another 50 temporary foreign workers were supposed to come in, but they were not brought to Canada.
The workers will be offered employment at other Champlain Seafood facilities.
Here is the full release from Champlain Seafoods:
February 13, 2024
Dieppe, New Brunswick – Champlain Seafood has announced today that Riverside Lobster
International (RLI), located in Meteghan, Nova Scotia will not reopen for the upcoming Spring
season and will be permanently closed. This shutdown of operations will impact the main lobster
processing plant as well as the live lobster holding and export operations.
In October 2023, it was announced that RLI would not process lobster for the Fall 2023 season.
At the time, the reason for the temporary shut down was due to lower lobster landings and
overall product availability. The lobster processing industry in Atlantic Canada is continuing to
see an unprecedented situation, with not enough lobsters to sustain current processing
capacity.
Champlain Seafood understands the impact of this difficult decision on the local community
and on its employees. Currently there are a small number of active employees working at RLI
and they will continue to be employed to wind down operations over the next few months.
Employees affected by the shutdown will be offered employment opportunities at other
Champlain Seafood facilities.
The closure of RLI does not impact Champlain Seafood’s other lobster processing facilities,
notably Cape Bald Packers and Captain Dan’s, both located in New Brunswick. These facilities
also process other seafood products including crab, clams and mussels.
