Tag Archives: Bait Masters

Impact of bait closure heightens

The Atlantic spring herring fishery will not reopen this year, and while no decision has been made on mackerel yet, the stock remains deep in the critical zone.  When the closure was announced in 2022, fishers already had bait stored up from the previous year. This year they expect to feel the full effects with the higher cost of sourcing alternatives. Allen Fay, a former bait fisherman out of North Lake who now fishes lobster, tuna and halibut, says the bait bill could double. It will be especially hard on younger fishers just getting into the industry who are already paying a lot for gear. Like many fishers, as well as the PEI Fishermen’s Association, he feels the closure doesn’t make sense because Americans will continue to fish the same mackerel stocks. >click to read< 11:53

P.E.I. company adding seal meat to produce ‘Cadillac’ of baits

Bait Masters started producing bait sausages in its $1.4-million facility in Nine Mile Creek in April 2021, using a mix of fish, fish oil and other organic matter in a biodegradable casing. Now the recipe is changing. “Part of that decision came from fishermen who requested it, and part of it came from the abundance of seal, and needing to find a use for… the product,” said co-owner Mark Prevost. “So far, I think seal would probably be one of the higher end as far as quality goes, with oil and fat. I would consider it the Cadillac of all the baits that we’ve tried to make. Photos, >click to read< 07:47

Concerns on P.E.I. about the risk foreign bait might pose to ecosystem

In March, DFO put a moratorium on commercial fishing for herring in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and mackerel across the East Coast, saying urgent action is required to allow those fish stocks to recover. That moratorium led to fears of a shortage of bait for use in the lucrative Maritime lobster fishery. Mark Prevost, the co-owner of the Bait Masters alternative bait company in Nine Mile Creek, P.E.I., appeared before a federal fisheries committee earlier this week. He is calling on the federal government to regulate the kinds of fish being used for bait. >click to read< 15:36

Bait Masters alternative bait got a bump in inquiries after mackerel quotas were cut in May

“We’re just two guys, so there’s going to be some logistics.” A P.E.I. company is getting ready to scale up production as word of its alternative bait spreads across North America, and a cut in the quota of traditional bait leaves fishermen looking for options. Bait Masters started producing their bait sausages in the $1.4 million facility in Nine Mile Creek, P.E.I.,,, Co-owners Mark Prevost and Wally MacPhee embarked on creating a new alternate bait,,, In 2020, a UPEI researcher released his analysis based on field trials of the new bait in P.E.I. bays in the summer of 2019. It found that the new bait sausage created by Bait Masters catches as many lobster as traditional baits, such as herring and mackerel. >click to read< 07:55