YARMOUTH, N.S. — The fall lobster season is to open Tuesday in southwestern Nova Scotia after a 24-hour delay caused by high winds.

About 1,500 boats from Eastern Passage to Digby will set out at 6 a.m. with full loads of traps.

Boats along much of the South Shore can set as many as 250 traps while skippers leaving from Baccaro and through Yarmouth County to Digby may set 375.

Some boats will carry even more traps than that under a process called licence-stacking, which allows some skippers to fish 150 per cent of the gear from two licences as long as they do it in one boat.

Skipper Julian German of Meteghan said he'll be setting 563 traps in one trip.

German's boat, the Mega Hawk, will leave port with lobster traps stuffed in the hold and stacked four metres high on deck.

German said he and his four-man crew will travel for several hours to reach their intended fishing grounds.

They plan to stay at sea for a few days.