Nova Scotia Lobster Fishing Areas (LFAs) Explained

Nova Scotia’s lobster waters are divided into numbered Lobster Fishing Areas (LFAs), and every trap in the province sits in one of them. Twelve inshore LFAs touch the Nova Scotia coast: 25, 26A and 26B along the Northumberland Strait and western Cape Breton, and 27 to 35 from northern Cape Breton around the Atlantic coast and into the Bay of Fundy. Beyond 50 nautical miles lies the offshore LFA 41, and LFA 40 on Browns Bank is closed to lobster fishing. Each LFA has its own season, trap limit and size rules, and a commercial licence gives access to one specific area.

This pillar guide covers the lobster fishing areas of Nova Scotia one by one: where each runs in plain language, which Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) office manages it, how many licences fish it, and its key rules. For the dates, read our Nova Scotia lobster season guide, and for the bigger picture see the complete guide to Nova Scotia lobster.

What is a lobster fishing area?

A lobster fishing area is a block of sea, defined in law, inside which one set of lobster rules applies. The boundaries are set out as maps and latitude and longitude points in Schedule XIII of the federal Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985. Schedule XIV of the same regulations sets each LFA’s close time and minimum legal size. Licence conditions and DFO notices then add trap limits, female size windows and the actual season dates for each year.

The LFAs that touch Nova Scotia are split between two DFO regions:

• DFO Maritimes Region manages the inshore LFAs 27 to 38 and the offshore LFA 41. Its territory is the whole Bay of Fundy and all Nova Scotian waters along the Atlantic coast to the tip of Cape Breton.
• DFO Gulf Region manages LFAs 23, 24, 25, 26A and 26B in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Of these, 25, 26A and 26B touch Nova Scotia.

Inside Maritimes Region, DFO’s inshore lobster management plan gives operational lead to three area offices and the regional headquarters:

LFAs	DFO office with the lead
27–32	Eastern Nova Scotia Area Office, Sydney
33–34	Southwest Nova Scotia Area Office, Yarmouth
35	Regional Headquarters, Dartmouth
36–38	Southwest New Brunswick Area Office, St. George

Lobster fishing areas in Nova Scotia at a glance

Licence counts are DFO’s figures as of December 31, 2021. Trap limits are for a full-time (Category A) licence. The Gulf figures are from DFO Gulf’s 2025 and 2026 plans and apply to Gulf Nova Scotia harvesters where DFO lists them separately.

LFA	Plain-language area	Licences (2021)	Trap limit	Minimum size
25	Western Northumberland Strait	Not published by area	225 (Gulf Nova Scotia)	79 mm
26A	Southeastern Northumberland Strait, Nova Scotia–PEI	Not published by area	280 in 26A-1 (Gulf NS); 255–275 in 26A-2; 250 in 26A-3	76–81 mm by sub-area
26B	Western Cape Breton, including Chéticamp	Not published by area	250	82.5 mm (South), 84 mm (North)
27	Northern and eastern Cape Breton, Cabot Strait	514	275	82.5 mm
28	Bras d’Or Lake	14	250	84 mm
29	Southern Cape Breton to the Strait of Canso (roughly)	62	250	84 mm
30	Southeastern Cape Breton (roughly)	20	250	82.5 mm
31A	Guysborough County (roughly)	71	250	82.5 mm
31B	Eastern Shore (roughly)	70	250	82.5 mm
32	Eastern Shore to the Halifax area (roughly)	156	250	82.5 mm
33	Halifax area to Shelburne County (South Shore)	680	250	82.5 mm
34	Southwest Nova Scotia	979	375, rising to 400 from April 1	82.5 mm
35	Upper Bay of Fundy	94	300	82.5 mm
41	Offshore banks, beyond 50 nautical miles	Separate offshore plan	No inshore trap limit	Separate offshore plan

“Roughly” marks areas where DFO publishes boundary coordinates but no plain-language description, so our place names are a reading of the coordinates. Use DFO’s maps for anything that matters.

How to read the DFO LFA map

There’s no single interactive map of every Nova Scotia LFA, but three official sources between them cover everything:

1. The Maritimes map. DFO’s inshore management plan for LFAs 27–38 includes a map of all the Maritimes Region LFAs (Figure 2), with the 50-nautical-mile line and the LFA 40 box on Browns Bank.
2. The Gulf maps. DFO Gulf Region’s lobster fishing areas page has an overview map and a separate map and coordinate table for each Gulf LFA, plus LFA 27. DFO notes that these maps are for visual reference only, have no official sanction, and use the NAD27 datum.
3. The legal boundaries. Schedule XIII of the Atlantic Fishery Regulations contains the official maps and boundary points.

When you read any of these maps, keep four things in mind:

• Boundaries are straight lines. Each LFA boundary runs out to sea from a fixed point on the shore. Where that point is a headland or harbour, the line may cut across a bay, so neighbouring wharves can sit in different LFAs.
• Inshore areas reach out 50 nautical miles. That’s about 90 km, and the 50-nautical-mile line divides the inshore fishery (LFAs 27–38) from the offshore fishery (LFA 41). In practice, eastern Nova Scotia’s fishing happens mostly within 15 km of shore.
• Some LFAs have sub-areas. DFO Gulf splits 26A into 26A-1, 26A-2 and 26A-3, and 26B into North and South, each with different dates and sizes. In the Bay of Fundy, Area 38B is a summer-fished part of LFA 38.
• Maps don’t show the rules. The trap limits, sizes and seasons come from the year’s DFO notice, not the map.

Gulf Region LFAs: the Northumberland Strait and western Cape Breton

LFA 25

DFO Gulf describes LFA 25 as “the northwestern part of Northumberland Strait between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.” Most of it is off New Brunswick and PEI, but DFO’s LFA 25 plan sets separate rules for Gulf Nova Scotia harvesters, so a share of the fleet fishes from the Nova Scotia shore. It is the only late-summer inshore fishery touching Nova Scotia. Under DFO’s five-year schedule, it opened on Monday, August 10, 2026, and is due to open on Monday, August 9, 2027. The 2025 rules set a 79 mm minimum size, a 115 mm maximum size for females, a 152 mm maximum trap entrance hoop and 225 traps for Gulf Nova Scotia licences, compared with 250 in PEI and New Brunswick.

LFA 26A

LFA 26A covers “the southeastern part of Northumberland Strait between Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island” and the western half of the waters between PEI and Cape Breton. On the Nova Scotia side, that’s the north shore of mainland Nova Scotia facing PEI. DFO’s 2026 Gulf plan divides it into three sub-areas but doesn’t describe their geography:

• 26A-1 has separate rules for PEI and Gulf Nova Scotia harvesters. Gulf Nova Scotia licences may fish 280 traps with a 76 mm minimum.
• 26A-2 has a 78 mm minimum, with 255 traps (or 275 for some communal licences).
• 26A-3 has an 81 mm minimum and 250 traps.

All of 26A releases females from 115 to 129 mm, and it fishes in spring. In 2026, 26A-1 and 26A-2 ran April 27 to June 27, and 26A-3 ran April 20 to June 20.

LFA 26B

LFA 26B is “the eastern half of Northumberland Strait between Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton” and “the entire western coast of Cape Breton.” DFO splits it into 26B South (82.5 mm minimum) and 26B North (84 mm minimum, 152 mm maximum trap entrance hoop). Chéticamp is in 26B North, where the 2026 plan closes fishing inside Chéticamp Harbour. Both have a 250-trap limit and fish in spring. Like the rest of the Gulf LFAs 23 to 26, 26B now requires electronic logbooks.

Eastern Nova Scotia: LFAs 27 to 32

These six areas, from northern Cape Breton to the Halifax area, are run from DFO’s Sydney office. All fish in spring, and in 2026 they started a five-year pilot that shifts their season dates without changing season length. LFA 28 is not part of the pilot. Details are in DFO’s 2026 notice for LFAs 27–32.

LFA 27: northern and eastern Cape Breton

DFO describes LFA 27 as “rectangular in shape.” It covers the northeastern coast of Cape Breton and about three-quarters of Cabot Strait, plus part of the Atlantic southeast of Cape Breton. With 514 licences in 2021, it is by far the biggest of the eastern areas, and 33 of those licences were based in DFO’s Gulf Region. It has the highest trap limit in the east, 275, and an 82.5 mm minimum. The 2026 season ran May 8 to July 8.

LFA 28: Bras d’Or Lake

LFA 28 is the inland sea at the heart of Cape Breton, labelled “Bras d’Or Lake” on the regulation map. It’s the smallest fleet in the province, with 14 licences in 2021, half of them communal commercial licences. The minimum size is 84 mm and the maximum trap entrance hoop is 153 mm.

LFA 29: southern Cape Breton

From the coordinates in Schedule XIII, LFA 29 runs roughly from the St. Peter’s area west to the Strait of Canso, taking in Isle Madame in Richmond County. It had 62 licences in 2021, an 84 mm minimum and a 153 mm maximum hoop.

LFA 30: southeastern Cape Breton

LFA 30 is a short stretch of the southeastern Cape Breton coast with only 20 licences. Its signature rule is a maximum size of 135 mm for females, which protects the largest, most productive breeders.

LFAs 31A, 31B and 32: Guysborough County and the Eastern Shore

These three areas run roughly from Guysborough County along the Eastern Shore to the Cole Harbour area east of Halifax.

• LFA 31A (71 licences) releases females between 114 and 124 mm, a “closed window”.
• LFA 31B (70 licences) and LFA 32 (156 licences) have mandatory v-notching of female lobsters. They were also the first eastern areas to open in 2026, on April 9.

The South Shore and southwest: LFAs 33 and 34

These two areas, run from DFO’s Yarmouth office, are the heart of the Nova Scotia lobster fishery. They share a season, from the last Monday in November to May 31, and the opening is known as Dumping Day. Both have a maximum vessel length of 15.24 m (50 ft), while other Maritimes LFAs allow vessels up to 19.8 m (65 ft).

LFA 33: Halifax to Shelburne County

DFO’s residency rule for new LFA 33 licences describes the area well. Applicants must live in Lunenburg or Queens counties, in Shelburne County east of the Barrington River, or in Halifax County west of the western edge of Cole Harbour. QCCR reported in 2025 that the area runs from Cow Bay to Shelburne and has 678 licence holders, each limited to 250 traps. In the 2024-25 season, LFA 33 landed over 7,100 tonnes worth more than $180 million, according to preliminary DFO figures cited by QCCR.

LFA 34: southwest Nova Scotia

LFA 34 covers the waters off Yarmouth and Digby counties and the western end of Shelburne County, beyond LFA 33’s boundary at the Barrington River. It has the most inshore lobster licences of any LFA, 979 in 2021. The trap limit is 375 until March 31, then 400 from April 1 to May 31. In 2024-25, preliminary DFO figures put its landings at over 14,400 tonnes worth about $360 million. About 57% of the LFA 40 closed area on Browns Bank lies inside LFA 34’s outer waters.

The Bay of Fundy: LFA 35 and its neighbours

LFA 35: the upper Bay of Fundy

LFA 35 takes in the upper Bay of Fundy and is fished from both the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick shores. It’s the only Maritimes LFA managed directly from DFO’s regional headquarters in Dartmouth. Its 94 licences (2021) may fish 300 traps each, and the minimum size is 82.5 mm. LFA 35 has a split season: October 14 to December 31, then the last day of February to July 31.

LFAs 36, 37 and 38

LFAs 36, 37 and 38 lie in the Bay of Fundy off New Brunswick and are managed from DFO’s St. George, New Brunswick office, so we treat them as neighbours rather than Nova Scotia areas. LFA 37 is a small area shared by LFA 36 and LFA 38 licence holders, who fish it under their own area’s conditions. Area 38B, the “Disputed Zone” around Machias Seal Island, is claimed by both Canada and the United States. It is fished in summer by LFA 38 licence holders who apply each year.

Offshore: LFA 41 and the LFA 40 closure

LFA 41 is the offshore fishery beyond the 50-nautical-mile line in DFO Maritimes Region. It’s managed under a separate offshore lobster and Jonah crab plan, and the Atlantic Fishery Regulations leave it open all year except January 1 and 2. It is also the one LFA exempt from the regulation limits on trap dimensions (125 cm long, 90 cm wide and 50 cm high).

LFA 40 is not a fishing area at all. In 1979, DFO established a rectangular closed area on Browns Bank to protect lobster broodstock. It covers all of Browns Bank shallower than 50 fathoms, straddles the inshore/offshore line (about 57% in LFA 34 and 43% in LFA 41), and remains closed to lobster fishing. Other fisheries are not affected.

How licences work across LFAs

A lobster licence is tied to an area. DFO’s management plan says participants “are issued a licence that provides access to a specified LFA.” No licences are issued solely for LFA 37. The main types:

• Category A licences belong to full-time harvesters and carry the area’s full trap limit.
• Category B licences are part-time licences from the 1970s that carry 30% of the Category A limit. They can’t be transferred and end when the holder dies.
• Partnerships and stacked licences let two licences be fished from one boat at 150% of a single trap limit.
• Communal commercial licences are held by First Nations and are equivalent to Category A licences.

Each year, licence holders get a set of consecutively numbered trap tags to match their trap limit. Lost or damaged traps need replacement tags. For the full rulebook, including sizes, berried females and enforcement, read our guide to lobster regulations in Nova Scotia. The seasons and fishing areas hub collects our individual LFA guides as they are published. To find lobster from a particular area, see how to buy live lobster in Nova Scotia or where to eat lobster in Nova Scotia.