Canada's largest lobster fishery in the Maritimes region off of Nova Scotia will open officially on Saturday.

The industry association representing the region's fishermen decided Thursday they will open LFA 34 Saturday at 6:00 am, according to Debbie Buott-Matheson, a spokeswoman with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. She told IntraFish Wednesday lobster fishing area (LFA) 33 would also open this Saturday at 7:00 am.

Canada's lobster season has been delayed this year due to a dangerous sea state, according to Buott-Matheson.

Over 1,500 vessels, and 5,200 vessel captains and crew, participated in the southwest Nova Scotia lobster fishery during the season from 2017 to 2018.

LFA 33 and 34 license holders recorded landings of 31,863 metric tons in 2017-2018, generating a landed value of approximately $502 million (€444.8 million). It's expected to be the second largest landed value on record, according to the DFO.

In 2017, the lobster fishery in the Maritimes region accounted for 57 percent of the total Canadian landings of lobster, and 34 percent of total North American lobster landings.

Sixty percent of the total inshore lobster landings in the Maritimes Region were from LFAs 33 and 34.