Tag Archives: P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association
People who fish off P.E.I. have mixed reaction to new parental leave benefits
Some lobster fishing captains on Prince Edward Island say they think there will be little interest in new parental leave benefits just announced by the federal government. On Thursday, Ottawa announced maternity and parental benefits for people licensed to fish in Atlantic Canada, saying that could encourage the next generation of harvesters to join the fishing industry and provide more flexibility to those with new families. “I don’t think there’ll be a lot of uptake on it,” said lobster captain Charlie McGeoghegan, who fishes out of Pinette on P.E.I.’s south shore. “I haven’t heard anybody even ask for it, so I’m not sure where this came from.” Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:26
Anxiety, depression are top issues faced by people who make their living on the sea
The number of people working in fisheries and aquaculture who are calling a dedicated industry counselling service on Prince Edward Island has more than doubled over the last fiscal year. From May 2022 to May 2023, the service counselled 24 people. That jumped to 64 people in the 2023-24 fiscal year. “The stigma for reaching out [about] mental health, I think that’s decreasing in our society generally. So it becomes more socially acceptable and people give themselves permission to reach out,” said social worker Frank Bulger. The program has been offered since 2019 by Frank Bulger Personal and Family Counselling, on behalf of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association and the P.E.I. Aquaculture Alliance. Bulger administers the program, along with a counsellor in Summerside and one who works remotely from Alberta. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:29
Season’s 1st North Atlantic right whale sighting is bracing P.E.I. fishers for the next one
The 2023 lobster fishing season was just three weeks old when two endangered right whales were spotted to the east of Western P.E.I. For the first time ever, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans shut that section of Lobster Fishing Area 24, meaning lobster crews had to move their traps to shallower waters until the whales left, rather than risk them becoming entangled in fishing gear. Nearly one year later, a marine biologist says P.E.I. fishers are reflecting on the lessons they learned, after an entangled right whale was spotted on Friday northeast of New Brunswick, prompting fishing closures in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:35
‘The lobster looks good,’ North Shore harvester says after first trap hauled
Fishing crews on P.E.I.’s North Shore landed their first catch of the season on Monday, six days later than planned. And so far so good, said Stephen Ramsay, who fishes out of North Rustico. “The lobster looks good,” he said. “Nice shiny stuff around, hard shell, looks good.”It’ll be a few more days, however, before he and other North Shore crews know what they’ll be paid for it. Ramsay said the prices he’s heard have been “all over the map” so far. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 19:28
‘Unique mix’ gathers to solve lobster bait problem
Following the closure of mackerel and herring fisheries, P.E.I. lobster fishermen have been struggling to find an alternative bait that is affordable. This week in Charlottetown a diverse group of players in the industry came together to discuss solutions. “We’ve brought together government, we’ve brought together buyers, we’ve brought together harvesters,” said Ian MacPherson, executive director of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association. “It’s a unique mix and a lot of different perspectives but some great information coming out of it.” photos, more, >>click to read<< 09:56
P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association calls for more timely, better monitoring in wake of federal report
Executive director Ian MacPherson said a recent report from the federal environment commissioner underlined the importance of doing more, and better science, especially as the crucial herring and mackerel fisheries remain closed to Island fishers. “Herring and mackerel are the big ones here on Prince Edward Island, important fisheries to us, and we’d like to get them reopened — and we realize these are science-based decisions, but you need accurate and timely information,” MacPherson said. >>click to read<< 06:38
‘Alarm bells should be going off’: P.E.I. fishers reflects on low prices, poor weather throughout 2023 spring lobster season
Charlie McGeoghegan, chair of the P.E.I. lobster marketing board, wants answers as to why the price of lobster per pound was so low throughout the 2023 spring season. According to McGeoghegan, the price of lobster was $13.50 per pound up until the start of the season when it suddenly dropped by more than six dollars. As a result, fishers in the province lost more than $300 million in revenue, as the yield last year was more than 47 million pounds. “Alarm bells should be going off with the province as well, that’s a lot of revenue,” said McGeoghegan. Lobster fisher Art MacDonald of Souris said he’s had a hard time remembering a colder and wetter fishing season. >click to read< 17:07
Unfavourable forecasts continue to keep P.E.I. lobster boats off water
Wednesday was supposed to be trap setting day for the fall fishery, which operates in the Northumberland Strait along the south coast from North Cape to Victoria-by-the-Sea, as well as off northern New Brunswick. But crews and officials decided to delay the start of the season during a weather conference call with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Tuesday. Another call Wednesday afternoon ended with no consensus on a Friday opening, so another call will be held at 10 a.m. AT Thursday to consider updated forecasts. The P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association says that means Saturday will be the earliest possible opening day. >click to read< 10:43
Areas closed to protect North Atlantic Right whales ready to re-open Friday in western P.E.I.
Charlie McGeoghegan, the chair of the Lobster Fishers of P.E.I., said the re-opening is good news. “They were fishing in 80 to 100 feet of water, a lot of them, and the lobster had just started to come on in that area. And then they were forced to pull all the gear out of that area and move it into 60 feet of water or less,” he said. “There’s basically 400 boats in that area or close to it. If you take all those boats and put them in a little narrow strip between the shoreline and 60 feet depth of water … it’s an over-congestion of gear.” McGeoghegan said losses over the past two weeks could be significant for some crews. >click to read< 14:28
P.E.I. bait company puts seal meat plans on ice, fearing U.S. fallout
Bait Masters Inc. 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 inside a biodegradable casing. In March, the company did a test run of sausages using a seal-mackerel mix and the results were promising. However, as word spread that the bait would contain seal byproducts, that triggered some red flags in the fishing industry because of U.S. rules around the seal harvest, laid out in the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act. Prevost received an email that was being circulated to people in the lobster industry, warning of the implications if seal were to be used in trap bait. Photos, >click to read< 07:29
‘Aggravation’ expected when part of lobster fishing area closes
Chris Wall is among those being asked by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to remove all their gear from a portion of lobster fishing area 24 before it closes on Tuesday at 5 p.m. due to the confirmed sighting of a North Atlantic right whale. “It will affect the bottom line because I think you’re going to find more people in a smaller area trying to catch the same amount of lobsters,” Wall said. “So … it will affect everybody. It’s just going to cause some aggravation, for sure.” Wall isn’t aware of any right whale ever getting caught in lobster fishing gear on P.E.I., he said. >click to read< 08:56
P.E.I. fishermen getting more time to start using breakaway lines that protect right whales
When the deaths of dozens of right whales made headlines in 2017, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans took notice. It saw that whales were getting tangled in fishing gear and dying when they couldn’t escape. So, the department set a deadline for Canadian fixed gear (trap) fisheries to begin using breakaway lead lines that would allow anything weighing 1,700 pounds or more to break free. That deadline was extended last year until 2023, and last month it was extended for another year, said Melanie Griffin, a marine biologist with the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association. >click to read< 10:48
P.E.I. fishermen welcome extension on deadline for gear to protect whales
Some members of the P.E.I. fishing community are welcoming DFO’s decision to extend the deadline for break-free fishing gear until 2024. This is when fishers will be required to use gear designed to break under 1,700 pounds to help species like the endangered North Atlantic right whale escape during an entanglement. “I mean, we’re certainly happy to see it extended,” said Marvin Jollymore, a lobster and eel fisher from New London, P.E.I. “There’s so many questions as to, you know, how long does [the gear] last? You put it in, does it last one season? Does it last two seasons, does it last forever? Is it only good for half a season?” >click to read< 07:59
UPDATED – P.E.I. – Fall lobster season delayed by weather; Thursday opener confirmed.
The opening of P.E.I.’s fall lobster season has been delayed, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The season was scheduled to open in Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 25 on Aug. 9 and close on Oct. 10, but DFO officials say the season won’t open until weather conditions improve. When opening is delayed, the season closes a day late up to a maximum of four days. In a Facebook post to members, the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association said the opening will be delayed until at least Aug.11. >click to read< 18:08
P.E.I.’s fall lobster fishery to open Thursday – P.E.I.’s fall lobster season will open at 6 a.m. Thursday, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has confirmed. >click to read< 17:27
Prince Edward Island: Fishermen wary of new gear mandated by DFO to protect whales
The federal government is making it mandatory for fishing crews to use the new gear as of January 2023. The ropes are designed to break more easily so whales won’t become entangled and suffer injuries if they swim into it. Lobster fisher Charlie McGeoghegan said it’s causing some concern in the fishing community who wonders if the gear is safe to use, if it will be lost more easily and how much it will cost to replace. The P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association asked the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for an exemption for lobster fishers but was denied. >click to read< 07:50
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
P.E.I. fishermen seek province’s help in wake of herring, mackerel moratorium
In March, the federal 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 the stocks to recover. Fishers were not pleased, and said a complete moratorium goes too far. “This has been a devastating and direct blow for these fishers,” said Molly Aylward, the association’s executive director, appearing before a legislative standing committee on natural resources. The P.E.I.F.A. represents independent core fishers who depend on the commercial herring and mackerel fishery for their main source of income, as well as lobster fishers who use the fish for bait, often fishing it themselves to keep their costs down. >click to read< 09:17
No incidents, but tension simmering as Lennox Island launches treaty fishery
“Everything went smooth and no trouble and it was a great day,” said Kyle Sark, captain of the lobster boat Way Point. The treaty fishers were able to set about 240 traps on Saturday, but plan to set 1,000 in what they say represents the “moderate livelihood” to which they are entitled. They said they have had trouble launching boats, because local boat-moving companies say non-Indigenous fishermen have threatened to boycott them. And with no understanding with DFO in place, it is raising tensions in the fishing community. PEIFA strongly advocates for peace on the water leaving any enforcement related to this unauthorized fishery to DFO and other authorities. >click to read< 15:19
Abegweit First Nation won’t launch treaty lobster fishery off P.E.I. this year
The community held a press conference on Friday saying it is still negotiating with DFO to get an agreement on the fishery, clarifying that it will not follow the decision of Lennox Island First Nation to launch such a fishery without the federal government’s support. Once it finalizes an agreement, Abegweit said it will launch its self-regulated moderate livelihood fishery when the community deems it is the right time. Gould wants to make sure all commercial fishers on the Island realize Lennox Island and Abegweit are separate communities, and Abegweit is conducting its own negotiations with DFO independently. Abegweit First Nation fishes commercially using communal licences owned by the band, and the chief said he is proud of the relationships his community has built with non-Indigenous harvesters in the surrounding area. >click to read< 18:07
P.E.I. – Lennox Island First Nation to launch unauthorized treaty lobster fishery
The Lennox Island First Nation says it will be launching a treaty lobster fishery off P.E.I.’s North Shore next week with or without the federal government’s support. The First Nation has a clear treaty right to harvest lobster for a moderate livelihood without the federal government’s approval, a right affirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada in the 1999 Marshall ruling. The First Nation intends to launch the treaty fishery on Saturday, May 7, weather permitting. On Thursday afternoon, the provincial fishermen’s association issued a written release, calling it “unfortunate” that discussions between the federal government, non-Indigenous fishing associations and First Nations have not taken place to discuss the requirements further. >click to read< 17:09
91-year-old active fisherman in P.E.I. to be inducted into Acadian Business Hall of Fame
For many people, eventual retirement is the force that pulls them to work every day, but for 91-year-old Alcide Arsenault, it’s a love of the sea. “In the spring, when the ice goes, it’s just like a magnet that takes you back to the shore. I’ve always loved fishing.” Alcide, who lives in Cape Egmont, has been fishing lobster off P.E.I.’s north and south shores since 1944 when he was just 14 and could be the oldest active fisherman in P.E.I. On Dec. 3, he was named one of four 2022 inductees into the Acadian Business Hall of Fame, considered the highest and most prestigious recognition from the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of PEI. >click to read< 10:50
Weather Delay: Spring lobster seasons in parts of three Maritimes provinces to open on Tuesday.
The decision came after the Lobster Advisory Committee met with DFO Sunday morning. The seasons for LFA 23 in northeastern New Brunswick, LFA 24 in northern P.E.I. and LFA 26A in southerneastern P.E.I. and northern Nova Scotia were originally scheduled to start April 30, but were delayed due to poor weather. “Safety is paramount,” Ian MacPherson, executive director of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association,,, >click to read< 14:35
Lobster season delayed on P.E.I.’s North Shore, now, Southern P.E.I. lobster crews as well
Setting day was scheduled for Friday, but that has been moved to Monday for lobster fishing area 24, which includes the North Shore of P.E.I. A decision on the opening for LFA 26A, which encompasses the southeastern shore from Point Prim to Victoria, is expected Thursday. Ian MacPherson, executive director of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association, says delays are not uncommon, but fishermen were hoping for a good start this year after the season was delayed two weeks last year due to COVID-19. >click to read< – The opening of the spring lobster season is being delayed for southern Prince Edward Island because of high winds in the forecast, a day after a similar decision was made for North Shore boats. >click to read< 12:19
Prince Edward Island: New fishermen left out of Coronavirus support programs
The P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association is trying to get federal support programs for fishermen changed so people new to the industry can qualify. The association says these new fishermen don’t qualify for the Fish Harvester Benefit and Grant program, the Canada Emergency Business Account or the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. That’s because they need to supply information about their previous work in the industry. “There are several of the programs that require one or two years of previous financial information, which of course a new entrant would not possess,” said Ian MacPherson, executive director of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association. >click to read< 13:05
Consultation lacking on decision to reactivate licenses for Indigenous communities
The reactivation of dormant lobster fishing licences by the federal government has prompted a terse statement from the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association (PEIFA) and the Maritime Fishermen’s Union (MFU). The two organizations say they were left out of consultation over the reactivation of 10 lobster licences by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) in the Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 25, located on the western end of the Northumberland Strait between P.E.I. and New Brunswick.,,, The statement said fishermen were “frustrated” by the lack of consultation prior to the decision and called for the federal government to bring together Indigenous and non-Indigenous fishermen’s organizations. >click to read< 09:54
PEISPA, PEIFA disappointed with the opening date of fall lobster season
The opening day is Monday, Aug. 10. A media release issued from the PEISPA explains this date will create difficulty for lobster processors to handle the large number of lobsters that will be harvested in the first week. The release goes on to say the fall season would usually start on Aug. 9, but since that date falls on a Sunday this year, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) supported changing the opening date. “We are very disappointed that DFO rejected our simple but impactful request to start the fall fishery on Aug. 7,” said Jerry Gavin, executive director of the PEISPA. The P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association (PEIFA) also made a formal request for an earlier start date, confirmed executive director Ian MacPherson. >click to read< 09:54
Lower prices, reduced markets ‘doesn’t make for good math’ – P.E.I. fishermen ask for four day season extension
The P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association (PEIFA) has asked for a four-day extension to the spring lobster season. The PEIFA made the request to the federal fisheries minister and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) on June 16 to help offset the delayed start to the season. The season started two weeks late because of coronavirus and concerns over the safety of crews on boats, and questions over the demand and markets for lobster. According to the P.E.I. Lobster Marketing Board, about 200 fishermen have been dealing with quotas for most of the season, and prices are down substantially this year — most fishermen have been getting between $3.50 and $4.50 a pound for their catch. >click to read< 21:57
Coronavirus: Crew screening, enhanced cleaning part of P.E.I. lobster season launch Friday
The season was delayed two weeks by the COVID-19 pandemic. That delay was partly in the hopes that depressed markets would recover somewhat, and partly to give the industry time to establish new safety protocols to prevent an outbreak within the industry. Those protocols include Daily health questions for captains and crew before they board a fishing vessel. Minimum number of crew on board. No sharing of equipment, such as gloves and clothing,(more),,, The new rules were developed by the P.E.I. Workers Compensation Board in consultation with the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association, and reviewed by the chief public health officer. >click to read< 08:32
‘Level of anxiety really high’: Lobster season to start Friday for some Maritimers – >click to read<
Some P.E.I. fishermen feeling left out of lobster market
This year due to considerations around the coronavirus (COVID-19 strain) pandemic, P.E.I. lobster fishers will be setting traps on May 15 instead. Beach Point fisher Brayden Handrahan says he was ready to fish April 30 as usual, and he says he’s not alone. “That’s when everybody gets the most lobster, in the first two weeks, and that’s why everybody wants to go,” he said. Federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan said her department chose May 15 after fishers in licensed fishing areas (LFAs) 24 and 26a voted on the date. Ian MacPherson, executive director of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association, who co-ordinated the vote, says it was close, but the majority asked for a delay. By the time the vote was underway, many felt it was too late for the season to start on time, said MacPherson. As the decision date approached, Jordan added a “new wrinkle” by including processors into her considerations, he said. >click to read< 09:50
Canadian Independent Fish Harvesters Federation calling on Ottawa for Coronavirus aid
The Canadian Independent Fish Harvesters Federation says the federal government needs to do more to help people who work on the water sooner rather than later, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The federation represents fishing groups from across the country, including the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association. “The time for some assistance that we heard the minister speak about is now,” said Melanie Sonnenberg, president of the federation. Earlier this week, federal Minister of Fisheries Bernadette Jordan announced Ottawa’s plan to help processors during the pandemic and said the federal government is working on help for fishermen. >click to read< 14:53
