A lobster processing and export company in Nova Scotia has asked the Canadian province's highest court to overturn the Nova Scotia government's moratorium on new processing licenses, reports the CBC.

Lobster Hub, a company based in Meteghan that's wholly owned by World Link Food Distributors, argues that the moratorium, which has been in place since 2018,  has prevented it from expanding to handle new species. 

In a hearing at the Nova Scotia Supreme Court on Tuesday (Sept. 3), Lobster Hub explained that it wants to expand its operation by adding snow crab, rock crab, quahogs, herring and mackerel. However, the provincial government has repeatedly rejected the company's frequent requests for licenses, said Richard Norman, Lobster Hub's lawyer.

The province enacted a temporary moratorium on licenses in 2018 to allow time to review the licensing system. As reported by Undercurrent News, the ban was requested by the processing industry a year earlier to prevent the construction of new plants and lobster processing pounds, which it argued would cause overcapacity.

Three consecutive provincial fisheries ministers have since upheld the Nova Scotia government's moratorium. In 2023, the province indicated it would end the moratorium, CBC reported. However, it has not yet been lifted.

Lobster Hub's lawyer argued there isn't any evidence that the moratorium is still needed. However, lawyers for the province argued that a judge is not able to second-guess the discretionary rulings of government decision-makers.

The government also argued that Lobster Hub could obtain licenses for new species by offering to buy them from other license holders. However, the company said that would cost thousands of dollars and not make good business sense.