The Prince Edward Island tuna season opened on July 30, and as of August 14 reports from the fishery were cautiously positive.

“On the whole I would say that this year’s results are steadier than they have been,” said Ed Frenette, executive director of the Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association (PEIFA).

Frenette is quick to add that a major reason for the season’s steadiness is the regulation limiting takes to “one fish, per boat, per day. And it’s a limit put in place by the fishermen themselves. “It took a whole winter’s discussion,” Frenette says, “but they did it,” adding that the PEIFA tuna advisory board held hearings all across the province. Fishing is also carried out only Monday through Friday, and it’s all with line and hook. “It seems to be working,” he says.

That same advisory board is monitoring the catches every day, according to Frenette. “They take into account the quality of the fish and the price. If the price drops, they shut down until it rebounds.”

However, on August 19, fishermen closed the fishery until October 6. The reason, however, was not price but quality and the closure was planned, according to Walter Bruce, chairman of the PEIFA tuna advisory board.

“We want to try fishing later when the tuna are bigger and fatter,” Bruce says, adding, “the price has been pretty good, pretty reasonable all along.” How long the fishery will go after October 6 will depend on the catches, he says. Bruce himself fishes out of North Lake Harbor.

Frenette also noted that fishing was suspended on August 11 and 12. “It was a Japanese national holiday, in other words no auction, and we wanted to make sure that the fish sold were fresh.”

Frenette says that the quality of the catches “wasn’t that great” during the first few days of the season, but that it quickly improved. He added that the overall quota is 150 tons, and that, as of August 8, fishermen in 250 boats had taken a total of 40 tons or 141 tuna.

At the beginning of the season the daily price per pound was “around $8,” Frenette says, adding that the highest price was $18.50. On August 14 the price was “between $9 and $9.50.

Frenette says that he expects the full quota to be reached “some time in October.”