Lobster season closes

Lovers of lobster should take note that as of today, eating or even possessing your favorite delicacy could land you in trouble with the law. Closed season for spiny lobster, also known as crayfish, runs from February fifteenth through June fourteenth. But while those who eat the sweet seafood may mope, the people who catch them will be figuring out how to spend their hard-earned money. Managers of both National and Northern Fishermen’s Cooperatives report a significant improvement in production and prices for the season just ended. While neither co-op has tallied its final figures, Northern’s Bobby Usher says production for his organization is up nearly twenty-two percent to around three hundred and twenty thousand pounds. At the same time, the average price increased around ten percent, owing to hurricane damage in the major producing areas of the Bahamas and Cuba and high demand for Y2K celebrations. National’s Alan Burn reports that his co-op also beat last year’s results and for a short time in December export prices peaked at over sixteen U.S. dollars per pound. And while the sea has been bountiful for Belizean Fishermen, there is also good news for those who farm seafood on the land. Due to viral disease in Ecuador, the world’s largest producer of farmed shrimp, a predicted global shortage has significantly boosted world market prices. This comes at a time when a number of Belizean shrimp farms are boosting production to record levels. Industry proponents say that within five years farmed shrimp will rank as Belize’s number one export, surpassing sugar, citrus and bananas.