HALIFAX - Lobster fishermen in Atlantic Canada whose industry has been devastated by low prices and waning demand could be getting financial help from Ottawa, an MP from the region said Sunday.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay said discussions were taking place to determine the best way to assist fishermen who have been hit by record-low prices of under $3 a pound.

“We’re trying to put something together that will allow for short-term relief,” he told reporters at a military announcement in Halifax.

“We recognize a lot of lobster fishermen and their families are hurting and suffering as a result of this crisis in the fishery.”

MacKay wouldn’t specify what immediate measures are being considered, but fishermen throughout the region say they need financial assistance to make loan payments and offset their losses.

They’re also looking for a downsizing of the fishery, arguing that Ottawa should buy back up to 30 per cent of the licences and reduce the number of people involved in the once-lucrative industry.

Some fishermen have said the Employment Insurance program should also be adjusted so fishermen who don’t meet the requirements can qualify.

MacKay said all the measures are being looked at and that something should be presented “very soon” following meetings this weekend with various fisheries associations.

The situation grew so bad last week that dozens of fishermen in P.E.I. kept their boats tied up at the wharf, saying the expense of fuelling their vessels and paying crews to catch the lobsters wasn’t worth it.

Many said they had been told by buyers that there were limits on how many would be bought after processors said they had a glut of the crustaceans that weren’t selling.

Leonard LeBlanc of the Gulf Nova Scotia Fishermen’s Coalition said the price for the lobster has made it cheaper than bologna — and one that he hasn’t seen since he started fishing more than 25 years ago.

“This is a crisis of epic standards that we haven’t lived through yet,” he said from his home in Cheticamp, N.S., where at least four boats were sitting out the two-month season in the area.

“The bottom line is that revenues at the end of the year are going to be extremely small and it could require some loan or investment to get geared up for next year.”

He said fishermen need short-term financial help to make loan payments on their boats and a buyback of licences to reduce the number of fishermen.

Without help, he said his group and other small fishing operations involved in the multimillion-dollar industry could face collapse.

“We are looking at prices that we haven’t seen in 20 to 30 years — this has the potential to destroy the Atlantic lobster fishery,” said David Decker of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union.

There are about 10,000 lobster harvesters in the Atlantic region, including about 3,300 in Nova Scotia and 2,500 in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Fishermen say the recession in the U.S. has dried up markets that normally buy around 70 per cent of their product. There is also a sharp drop in demand at home as consumers face high markups on lobsters in the grocery store, LeBlanc said.

Federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea has said she’s optimistic that a solution could be found if industry and all levels of government work together.

16:28ET 10-05-09