YARMOUTH, Nova Scotia – Lobster fishermen in southwestern Nova Scotia are enjoying another banner season with hefty landings that were unheard of 10 years ago.

“The resource I don’t think in its history has been in better shape,” fisherman Henry Surette said this week.

When the six-month lobster season opened in late November, some boats returned with 1.5 tons of lobster after hauling their gear for the first time.

Now, with catches dropping off slightly, most boats will return with less than 1,000 pounds daily.

“Ten years ago, that was a first day’s haul and the next day you’d have a little less and then you’d be working your way down,” Surette said.

He’s been lobstering out of Pinkneys Point, Nova Scotia, for more than 40 years and says a decline in groundfish stocks is responsible for the improved landings. Groundfish, such as cod, eat very young lobster, he said.

“With the groundfish not doing very well, we can only see bright things for the future,” he said.

But some fishermen are concerned the Department of Fisheries and Oceans wants to limit the number of traps fishermen can set here, in order to further conserve stocks.

“As a fisherman, I don’t see why we need to take any more measures,” Surette said. “It scares me to think that the government wants to put [in] more measures.”

Lobster fishermen already cut tiny V-notches in the tails of egg-carrying females before tossing them back. When V-notched lobsters are found in traps, they are automatically released. And last year a slight increase in the allowable size was introduced.

Now fishermen are finding a lot of young lobsters and that’s promising, they say. Fishermen are also seeing lots of egg-carrying females.

DFO lobster biologist Doug Pezzack says worldwide fish stocks are in trouble, mostly due to overfishing.

“But for unknown reasons, lobster stocks are at a remarkable high,” he said. “Do we just go out and harvest that indiscriminately or do we say this is an opportunity to build up a healthier stock?

“The best time to do that is when the resource is abundant. Once you start to see your first sign of trouble, it’s too late.”

In Maine, lobster landings have been climbing during the last 15 years. Maine’s harvest last year was 53 million pounds, and this year’s could surpass that record-breaking figure.

But some scientists predict that Maine lobster landings will drop significantly in four to five years.