Back on the Water: Signs Point to Good Spring Season for P.E.I. Lobster Harvesters
April 26, 2017 dawned on Prince Edward Island with a roar of engines as more than 1,000 boats sailed from their home ports to the, hopefully, fertile lobster grounds around the province.
The weather was ideal, a far cry improvement from some setting days in recent years, when obstacles like harbours choked with ice and dangerously high winds have made major problems for harvesters.
But there was nary a sniff of bad tidings this year as the fleet set sail for Lobster Fishing Areas (LFA) 24 ...
Changing Course
P.E.I. Lobster Harvester Sells License to Follow Dream of Opening Craft Brewery
What’s that old business saying?
“Location, location, location.”
We’ll, nobody bothered to share that gem of wisdom with fishermen-turned-brewmaster Eric Wagner. And you know what? It probably wouldn’t have made much difference anyway — turns out if you sell a good beer, people will go out of their way to find you.
Wagner spent 32 years as a fisherman, sailing out of western Prince Edward ...
Back in Play: P.E.I. First Nation Restarting Province’s Only Shellfish Hatchery
Walking into the Bideford Marine Centre feels a bit like visiting some mad scientist’s laboratory out of a movie.
All around are vats of varying sizes filled with water bubbling violently, each coloured in various shades of green, yellow and red and all glowing brightly, lit from behind with purple light.
But, thankfully, the only person around the lab on this particular visit is far from mad — or he at least hides it very well.
That’s Steven Palmer.
On this particular day, ...
Significant Change to Temporary Foreign Worker Legislation
Above photo: Egmont MP Bobby Morrissey poses with a group of temporary foreign workers following a meeting in which they told him about many of the challenges they face.
Worker Advocates and Fishing Industry on P.E.I. Applaud End of Four-in, Four-out Restriction
In 2013, a group of Filipino women working on Prince Edward Island as part of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program wrote a letter to then Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Chris Alexander.
The women were rapidly ...
Short Notice
P.E.I. Fishermen Left Scrambling for Next Year's Lobster Bait After Sudden Closure of Mackerel Fishery
It’s a small fish that’s caused a disproportionately big ruckus in the Atlantic Canadian fishing industry.
The humble mackerel, long sought after in Atlantic waters as both a food fish and inexpensive bait for far more valuable species like lobster, has recently been the subject of unanswered questions regarding the abrupt ending of its commercial fishing season.
The Department of ...
LFA 25 Harvesters Pleased With 2016 Season
High Prices, Strong Demand and Great Weather Leave Little Room for Complaints
Lobster harvesters from Prince Edward Island are reporting a successful fall season in LFA 25.
Reports say prices are up as much as 20 per cent over last year — there was excellent weather with few days lost to high winds and though accurate catch data had yet to be tabulated as of the writing of this article, estimates put the overall tonnage on par with last season.
“There have definitely been some ...
Dealing with Death
P.E.I. Contending With Multiple Fish Die-Offs
Fish kill.
Two little words that Prince Edward Islanders have become intimately aware of.
Yes, that’s right, the same P.E.I. from all the postcards with the idyllic fishing villages and rolling green landscapes bordered by wildflowers and Anne of Green Gable-themed everything.
But there are days in this province when the green fields don’t seem quite so vibrant and the fishermen shake their heads at the state of world.
Those are the ...
Standing Out
Potentially Unique Strain of DNA Discovered in Eastern P.E.I. Atlantic Salmon
There’s something very old and potentially unique swimming around some of the rivers in eastern Prince Edward Island.
This is why Scott Roloson, a PhD candidate with the Canadian Rivers Institute at the University of Prince Edward Island, found himself hip-deep in North Lake Creek, collecting salmon smolts, earlier this spring.
Roloson and a number of colleagues, including a few from the local First Nation ...
Another Season in the Bag
Craig Avery has been fishing lobsters on Prince Edward Island for 40 years and he’s never seen prices as high as they were this season.
Avery, who is also president of the P.E.I Fishermen’s Association and other LFA 24 and LFA 26a license holders wrapped up their fishing season at the end of June.
Throughout the season, word on the docks was prices were going to be good because demand was exceptionally high. But even veterans like Avery were surprised at some of the numbers they ...
Diving for Supper
Above: A fish tub filled with scallops rests on the deck of a charter boat following a recreational dive in Nova Scotia. DFO recently gave a green light to allow a recreational scallop dive off P.E.I.
P.E.I. Launches First Recreational Scallop Fishery
Recreational divers on Prince Edward Island now have another reason to celebrate their hobby —and it’s delicious.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans recently approved the creation of a recreational scallop fishery, a first for ...
