Tag Archives: Prince County Fishermen’s Association
Northumberland Strait fall lobster fishery opens under favorable conditions
After several delays, the fall lobster season is officially underway in Lobster Fishing Area 25. This region includes fishermen from southern PEI, northwestern Nova Scotia, and southeastern New Brunswick. The season was supposed to start on Wednesday but was pushed forward due to bad weather. Charlie McGeoghegan, president of the Lobster Fishers of PEI Marketing Board, says the boats set out on Sunday morning to cast their nets. “Any time you can get a scheduled day where the weather is nice and everyone is safe, they are optimistic,” McGeoghegan said. >click to read< 08:53
Fall lobster fishers hoping for a prosperous season
“We always look forward to going fishing,” said Mark Arsenault, president of the Prince County Fishermen’s Association. “It’s a gamble, you look to see if you’ve got a winning hand or not.” While prices have been looking good in the lead up to the season that starts on Aug. 9, one concern on the minds of fishers is if there will be any more grid closures should any more North Atlantic Right Whales be spotted in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. “There’s an area that’s closed and it looks like it’s going to be closed until November,” said Mr Arsenault. “It’s deep water, from the 24/25 line to probably close to Miminegash. We’re trying to get a two week closure instead of a seasonal closure, but time will tell how that will go.” >click to read< 08:54
Spring lobster season marked by challenges
An increase in carapace size for canners has meant catches were lower for lobster fishers this season. “In a lot of harbours that had an effect,” said Charlie McGeoghegan, board chair of the Lobster Fishers of PEI Marketing Board. “It will have a positive effect next year, it’s just the short term pain for long term gain kind of thing. Those (lobster) will be around next year, and they’ll be a lot bigger.” Bait was an issue fishers weren’t expecting to deal with this year leading up to the start of the season. Mackerel and herring are what lobster fishers primarily use for bait, many of whom catch the fish themselves, but on March 30, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced the closure of those two commercial bait fisheries in Atlantic Canada, as there were concerns dwindling stocks have entered a critical zone. >click to read< 08:17
Prince Edward Island Lobster fishermen prepare for fall season after challenging spring
“I’m feeling good about the season,” said Peter Hustler, who has been fishing since he was 15. “Everybody has to make an income.” Demand for lobster plummeted as the pandemic forced restaurants to close earlier this year. The price dropped as low as $3.50 per pound. “It hurts, it hurts, and it hurt this spring, too, but I think everything is going to work out,” he said. “I’d like to see the price at $4.50 or $5 … and I believe it might happen.” >click to read< 19:09
P.E.I.’s fall lobster fishermen raise concerns about ghost fishing
A fisheries officer attending the annual meeting of the Prince County Fishermen’s Association said the amount of lost or abandoned lobster gear retrieved from the Northumberland Strait lobster grounds after the fall season ended was “extremely high said fisheries officer Anthony Cheverie. Cheverie said gear was retrieved throughout Lobster Fishing Area 25 (LFA 25), which takes in fishermen from P.E.I., New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Laura Ramsay, with the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association, said fishermen are concerned about the amount of lost gear and agreed Canadian regulations “make it hard for fishermen to help go clean up that gear”. Gear Innovation Summit planned for Feb. 11, 12, >click to read< 10:20
Strong start to fall lobster season in P.E.I.
The vice-president of the Prince County Fishermen’s Association (PCFA) has a simple method to gauge the success of the fall lobster season so far. “There’s nobody growling and my phone’s not ringing, so it must be good. That’s all I can say,” said Shelton Barlow. “Everybody is quite happy.” Catches in Lobster Fishing Area 25 started out stronger than normal >click to read< 08:06
P.E.I.’s fall 2019 lobster season starts Thursday. For the first time since 2015, no fall carapace increase scheduled
The president of the Prince County Fishermen’s Association (PCFA) is hoping this is the year fall lobster fishermen in the northern part of Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 25 get caught up with their counterparts in the south of their district. After a five-millimetre carapace size increase, spread out over three consecutive years, there are no further increases scheduled for the fall season. The stop in the carapace climb is “very important, especially at the north end,” Lee Knox said. “It’s great we’re finally there. Hopefully, this year, we will see an increase in the north end rather than a decrease.” >click to read< 12:33
PEIFA puzzled over prices: association says P.E.I. price is 25 cents behind New Brunswick’s
The Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association is describing it as “puzzling” that the price P.E.I. fall lobster fishermen are receiving for their catch is trending 25 cents a pound lower than what New Brunswick fishermen are receiving. The fall fishermen all fish in the same body of water, Lobster Fishing Area 25 in the Northumberland Strait. “Despite warmer than normal temperatures, harvesters report robust product is being delivered to buying stations in Prince County,” the PEIFA says. The association notes many fall fishermen invested fairly significantly in recent months in onboard storage equipment to maintain the quality of their catch. >click to read<18:25
Western Gulf fishermen bristle at other P.E.I. fisheries group resolution
The Western Gulf Fishermen’s Association has answered back to the Prince County Fishermen’s Association. Last week the PCFA voted in favour of a sending a motion to the annual meeting of the Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association next month in Charlottetown, calling on all lobster advisory committees in the province to work towards a uniform lobster carapace size. >click here to read< 11:43
Prince County P.E.I. fishermen assured effluent plans being opposed
It is 326 kilometres away, by road, but a pulp mill in Pictou County, N.S., figured prominently in the Prince County Fishermen’s Association’s recent annual meeting at the O’Leary Legion. The president of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association, Bobby Jenkins, and then P.E.I. Minister of Fisheries Alan McIsaac made it clear they are adamantly opposed to Northern Pulp pumping effluent from its mill into Northumberland Strait. All members of the Prince County Fishermen’s Association fish in the Northumberland Strait. >click here to read< 08:53 
P.E.I. fishermen call for more officers to combat illegal fishing
The vice president of the Prince County Fishermen’s Association is renewing a push to have more fisheries officers in West Prince. Shelton Barlow, who fishes lobster out of Howard’s Cove, made the comments earlier this week at the association’s annual general meeting in O’Leary. “It is a large area,” Barlow said. “I’d like to see officers out there at every wharf. When you come into the wharf, you’d like to see an officer now and then to keep you in check. We need a lot more.” >click here to read<09:01
Minister praises role fishermen play in boosting P.E.I. economy
Provincial Fisheries minister Alan McIsaac told members of the Prince County Fishermen’s Association on Monday that the Island’s fishing industry is one of the shining reasons why the province will balance its budget, or show a slight surplus, this year. McIsaac said the lobster fishery alone produced landings of 36.4 million pounds and a landed value of $226 million in 2017. “You fellows are the ones that are making the economy go and helping us to balance the books.” click here to read the story 18:26
Robert Morrissey cautions P.E.I. fishermen about future of lobster stock
The lengthy discussions on lobster carapace that kept the Prince County Fishermen’s Association’s annual meeting running for nearly five hours last week were largely missing from the Western Gulf Fishermen’s Association agenda last Monday. It’s not that carapace wasn’t on the fishermen’s minds. It’s just that president Francis Morrissey advised members they will organize a special meeting to discuss carapace rather than take up time at the annual meeting. They did hear from Egmont MP Robert Morrissey,,, Read the story here 14:07
Winners and Losers – The politics of fisheries decisions in Lobster Fishing Area 25
With just about any political decision there are winners and there are losers. A tax break helps some while others pay through a reduction in service somewhere else. There are also winners and losers, or at least a perception of such, in the case of Federal Fisheries Minister Hunter Tootoo’s decision last week to increase the minimum lobster carapace size in Lobster Fishing Area 25. The Maritime Fishermen’s Union in New Brunswick can claim to be the winner, in that it had been lobbying for an increase, while the Prince County Fishermen’s Association in P.E.I. is taking the loss as it had been arguing in favour of leaving the size limit unchanged. Read the rest here 12:15
Lobster fishermen favour licence stacking proposal
Members of the Western Gulf Fishermen’s Association voted overwhelmingly this week in favour of a proposal that might allow them to hold both a spring and a fall lobster license in the same name. The proposal was put out for secret ballot during the WGFA’s annual meeting Monday at the Western Community Curling Club. Read the rest here 18:54
P.E.I. fall lobster landings – Best year ever on record
The steep climb in P.E.I. fall lobster landings in recent years, including a 16.3 per cent increase in 2014, had fishermen talking with optimism during the annual meeting of the Prince County Fishermen’s Association Thursday in O’Leary. The improved landings, coupled with a more than 30 per cent increase in shore price over the previous year, saw the value of the fall lobster fishery shoot up 51 per cent in the past year. Read the rest here 11:46
Prince County Fishermen’s Association president pleased with where lobster industry is heading
O’LEARY — The president of the Prince County Fishermen’s Association has an optimistic outlook for 2015 as he prepares for the organization’s annual meeting on Thursday. Lee Knox said members were pleased to receive 75 cents to a dollar more per pound for their lobster in 2014 than what they were paid in 2013. As well, he said, many of the fall lobster fishermen saw their catches increase over the previous year. Knox believes there is room for further price increases this year Read the rest here 14:37
P.E.I. fall lobster prices are going up and landings are good according to fishermen’s group
Prices in the last week have moved up to $3.50 a pound for canner size lobster and $4.00 a pound for markets, according to the president of the Prince County Fishermen’s Association, Lee Knox. Read the rest here 10:21
