Nova Scotia seafood industry faces uncertainty as U.S. tariffs take effect

There’s lots of anxiety in Nova Scotia’s seafood industry as Canadians come to grips with the Trump trade war.

The tariffs came into effect yesterday, hitting Canadian goods with a 25 per cent import tax.

While a recent Conference Board of Canada report said Nova Scotia is set up to withstand the impact of tariffs better than other provinces, it also said the seafood industry could take a hit.

Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance director Kris Vascotto said it’s far too early to know if job losses will come to the industry.

“Seafood is still going to be landed by harvesters, it’s still going to enter the value chain, it’s still going to go somewhere,” said Vascotto. “It’s much too early for us to be predicting large-scale layoffs, especially given the uncertainty associated with what and how long these tariffs will be in place for.”

Vascotto said a lot of work has already gone into diversifying markets for Nova Scotia seafood. He added U.S. customers account for 40 to 45 per cent of wild fish and seafood, so there are already strong relationships with other markets.

One fisher closes up shop in small town

The mayor of Lockeport in southwestern Nova Scotia says Clearwater Seafoods — the largest employer in the coastal town — has laid off about half its workers and shut down lobster processing at the local plant.

Mayor Derek Amalfa says the plant will continue to process scallops, but he could not comment on exactly how many jobs would be lost.

Amalfa says the town — home to 480 people — is reeling from the sudden loss of jobs.

He says officials with the Halifax-based company told him the layoffs were necessary because economic factors and other trends made the lobster processing business unsustainable.

The company did not respond to a request for comment from The Canadian Press.