The lobster fishery in the Strait of Northumberland, separating Prince Edward Island from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, is on the verge of collapse. Prince Edward Island fishermen have been saying it, and now the provincial government is saying so as well.
Ed Frenette, executive director of the Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association, says the situation is desperate, and he’s looking for assistance from both the provincial and federal governments.
Frenette, who favors federal assistance to help communities affected by the fishery, also said that serious research into the ecology of the area is needed. “It’s clear that the root of our problem is man-made. Now we need to do something about it.”
A report requested by PEIFA and commissioned by the provincial government recommended the establishment of a fishing industry debt review board; attaching “property” status to licenses so they can be used as collateral; federal funding to undertake a license buy-back; low interest bridging loans from the federal and provincial governments to deserving fishing enterprises; a review of lending policies to the fishing industry by the provincial government; the establishment of a working group to investigate habitat restoration; and enterprise management seminars and workshops to improve skills in areas such as financial management and succession planning.
The report states that effort reduction, via license retirement, is the only option in the short term that will bring stability to the industry. This rationalization process will take two to three years to complete, in the most optimistic of funding conditions, and that in the meantime, there will be an unavoidable number of lobster fishing enterprise business failures.
Meanwhile, Canadian news organizations reported record catches in the Strait during the first week of the P.E.I. spring lobster season.
Frenette notes that spring herring fishery has also collapsed. “Fishermen aren’t catching any herring at all to speak of. Only 118 tons. In 2000, they caught 4,000 tons during the same period. Obviously, this affects all the lobster fisheries. I can tell you this; the [off-island] seiner fleets aren’t helping matters any.”