Published Apr 18, 2025 • 1 minute readThe Clearwater Seafood sign on Bedford Highway in Bedford. I. Deveau Fisheries has purchased Clearwater’s Arichat live lobster holding facility, the companies jointly announced on Wednesday. Photo by FILEI. Deveau Fisheries has purchased Clearwater’s Arichat live lobster holding facility, the companies jointly announced on Wednesday.Based in Barrington Passage, N.S., I. Deveau has been an independently owned and operated family business since 1981. Fishermen from over 50 independent boats and multiple suppliers provide I. Deveau with their catch, which is graded, packaged and delivered year-round via air and truck to clients around the world.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentRecommended from Editorial Temporary layoffs at Clearwater’s Cape Breton facility as sale in works ‘A lot of people lost their jobs today’: Clearwater closes lobster processing line in Lockeport “We know that difficult times may lie ahead as the current state of the industry including the tariff situation, but we will work hard to manage through these challenges and keep this facility going and growing over time,” Joel German, general manager of I. Deveau Fisheries said in a release.In early March, about 83 workers were temporarily laid off at the Arichat facility while a sale to the new owner was worked out.The Arichat site is a live lobster storage facility that holds live lobster for up to six months at a time in an environment that mimics their natural habitat. It has the capacity to hold 1.8 million pounds of live lobster.According to the joint news release, employees are being called back on the basis of seniority to ensure long term employees retain their jobs.“The purchase of the facility by I. Deveau Fisheries will help provide sustainable, stable employment for a local workforce,” said Clearwater spokesperson Christine Penney. “It preserves the legacy of the Arichat facility as a leader in innovation and quality, under a strong experienced local ownership.”Clearwater Seafoods is one of North America’s largest vertically integrated seafood companies. It is Indigenous owned and employs 1,100 people across small coastal communities in Atlantic Canada.Article content
I. Deveau Fisheries buys Clearwater operation in Arichat
