Halifax ready to rock lobster shipments for holidays

A lot has changed since Native Americans used lobsters to fertilize their crops and authorities fed them to prisoners and slaves during the colonial era – so much so that Halifax Stanfield has built a 17,000-square-meter cargo pad to accommodate the freighters that transport the marine crustaceans to markets around the world.

“Each cargo flight that leaves Halifax Stanfield generates approximately CDN$1 million in new exports for the province,” said Bert van der Stege, Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA) vice president, business development and chief commercial officer. “The cargo freighters have already started their holiday schedules and, once the month of December is complete, we estimate more the $15 million in lobster will have been sent from Halifax Stanfield.”

In 2015, the overall value of exports from Halifax Stanfield was $447 million, up approximately $75 million over 2014. That growth was driven, in large part, by the live lobster and seafood category, up by $57 million over 2014. Lobster and seafood exports totaled $149 million in 2015.

Pass the tanning butter…