Jeff Land has taken Stewart Butland's home-based shop to a whole new level since purchasing it 10 years ago

A5

by Paul Merrigan
This Week Staff

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Jeff Land is quite busy these days and he wouldn't have it any other way. The owner of Butland's Seafood is in the middle of lobster season and with customers from all over Canada and the world, the popularity of Atlantic Canadian seafood has never been higher.

"We do wholesale of lobsters and scallops and we do retail for those fish and several other species here in the village," says Jeff. "Our retail store is open from Mother's Day weekend until the labour day weekend in September."

Having bought the store from the original owner 14 years ago, Jeff has enjoyed the challenges and successes of running his business.

"The original owner, Stewart Butland, was a fisherman and he started it out with a small shop at his house and ended up selling it," explains Jeff.

Having previous experience in running his own shop convinced Jeff that the seafood business was one in which he could have some success.

"I used to drive tractor trailers for a living and I also ran my own butcher shop with my brother," says Jeff. "That gave me some experience running my own business, even though it was smaller than the shop I run now. We did a lot of food services stuff with restaurants and specialty things. The experience I got dealing with customers there gave me a really good background."

Being situated literally on the shores of the Bay of Fundy and just outside one of the province's National Parks gives Butland's Seafood some wonderful resources and opportunities.

"We're right in the middle of the things," says Jeff. "We get the traffic from the park and coming down from the city as well. Being right on the wharf is a big attraction too with the boats."

Known for it's tides, the Bay of Fundy can also provide some challenges for those trying to make a go if it in the seafood industry.

"Alma is where the largest tides in the Bay of Fundy are and it's one of the last ports in New Brunswick," Jeff states. "We have a four hour window twice a day where the boats can come and go, which means the work can be pretty compacted."

While the retail front sells a wide variety of seafood, ranging from PEI mussels to Grand Manan Dulse, it is definitely the lobster which is the main attraction.

"People find our website (www.fundylobster.com) or have passed through here on vacation and when they get home, they put together an order with some friends to get some shipped," says Jeff. "It's a same day service, so you can't beat it. We send something from here at six in the morning and it can be in Calgary by the afternoon."

Aside from being able to place an order from the website, it also provides some interesting facts and pictures about lobsters, including the chances of finding a lobster with an oddly coloured shell, from blue to yellow to some which are actually two colours at once.

"We have a split coloured lobster here now that is orange on one side and greenish black on the other side," says Jeff. "We've had it for a couple of weeks here to show people, it's just an interesting sight to see."

The chances of finding a split coloured lobster? About one in fifty million.

"It's a good industry," concludes Jeff. "It's changed over the past 10 years and some parts have gotten harder as far as the business side goes. We've been very successful and a lot of it has to do with the people we who work here. We go the extra mile for our customers here and it draws people back and hopefully we'll continue to do that down the road."