The Nova Scotia Fish Packers Association is speaking out about new licensing requirements announced last week.
The province is implementing changes requiring a mandatory lobster handling course to acquire and renew licenses.
Association President Nathan Blades says the changes have come out of the blue.
“The whole industry has been blind sided by this,” he says. “We didn’t know what was going on, we weren’t consulted.”
He adds the issue at hand isn’t the training itself, but how it was handled.
“The concept of quality is not lost on this industry and I would say nobody is against training. We’re not in favour of how it was dumped on the industry without any consultation.”
Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Keith Colwell says the purpose of the new policy is to create a standard for lobster handling.
He says the province wants to work with the industry and help it grow.
