HALIFAX — Lobster is disappearing from some Halifax-area restaurants and the ongoing fishery dispute is the reason.
Staff at the Dear Friend Bar in Dartmouth, N.S., made a decision back in September to stop offering lobster on the menu because of the incidents in southwest Nova Scotia.
“We wanted to see if there was a way to shine more light on the issue but also support the Indigenous fisherman,” said Matt Boyle, the bar and restaurant’s co-owner.
Kourash Rad, owner of the Garden Food Bar and Lounge in Halifax, made that decision over the weekend.
“We looked at our menu and said the right to do is to take the lobster off the menu and show our solidarity to the community,” Rad said.
The Lobster Council of Canada was disappointed to hear lobster was being taken off the menu.
“Especially right here at home, but we take the matter seriously and we’re feeding that back into the process, to the federal government, to other participants in the negotiations, to hopefully make them realize this is a market issue and we need as quick a solution as possible,” Geoff Irvine said.
For Rad, the solution is straightforward.
“First and foremost, the violence needs to stop,” Rad said. “That’s the one thing that needs to happen.”
As for Boyle, he understands that he alone might not have an impact, but if others join in, the message gets stronger.
“As one small restaurant, it’s hard to have one voice, but as a community of restaurants, I think it helps the situation by doing something,” Boyle said.
Two other Halifax restaurants — Durty Nelly’s and the Stubborn Goat — have also taken lobster off the menu.
