Conservation concerns with fishing into July have prompted Prince Edward Island lobster fishermen in lobster fishing area (LFA) 26A to vote in favour of moving the season opening date ahead four days to April 26 with the season closing four days earlier than usual.
The online vote held in December was organized by the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association (PEIFA) following the season review meeting of the PEIFA LFA 26A Lobster Advisory Committee.
Concerns were raised around additional handling of moulting and spawning lobster when fishing into July resulting in possible negative implications on the stock such as increased mortality and egg loss. Similar discussions were being held in Nova Scotia and yielded similar concerns.
Delayed season openings in LFA 26A resulted in season extensions into the early days of July the last two years.
Just over half (51.2 per cent) of the 375 eligible lobster fishers (192) returned questionnaires on the vote question: Which opening (setting) date would you prefer in LFA 26A?
Of the two options presented, 124 (64.58 per cent) voted in favour of April 26 (four day earlier opening) resulting in a four day earlier closure assuming setting day is on April 26 and weather does not push it later. While 67 (34.89 per cent) voted in favour of an April 30 opening date with a 72-hour flexibility tool utilized only if winds (not ice) are forecasted and warrant opening the season up to 72 hours in advance of the 30th. There was one spoiled ballot.
The PEIFA LFA 26A Lobster Advisory Committee, with support from the PEIFA Board of Directors, has submitted a request for an April 26 opening for LFA 26A to DFO for consideration, as has their counterparts in Nova Scotia.
Meanwhile, in LFA 24, fishers there are asking for a 72-hour weather window for the opening of this year’s spring fishery in the event winds are forecast in excess of 40 knots. Both LFAs usually open April 30.
The P.E.I. lobster fishery had a solid year in 2021, with record shore prices, along with strong markets and landings.
“We had a way better season” than in 2020, said Bobby Jenkins, president of PEIFA. “2020 with COVID, was challenging enough. 2021 was by far a better year when it came to COVID. We’re still working under COVID-type conditions, so it was challenging.”
In 2021, the prices rebounded and the catches in all the LFAs were better, said Jenkins, so that helped.
According to preliminary landing statistics, in 2021, 24 million pounds of lobster were landed in LFA 24, 11.4 million pounds in LFA 26A and 11.7 million pounds in LFA 25.
Looking ahead to the 2022 lobster fishery, “We’re hopeful the prices stay strong and landings stay steady,” said Jenkins. “We’re looking forward to hopefully not having too many more ramifications hitting us due to COVID-19.
On the processing side, Jerry Gavin, executive director of the P.E.I. Processors Association, said while the extension given to temporary foreign workers (TFW) in 2021 was a big help, there are COVID-19 concerns going into 2022 season.
“The big concern is the Omicron virus. How is it going to impact temporary foreign workers coming back into Canada? They are a big piece of our workforce. Right now, there wouldn’t be issues, but we just don’t know what rules will be in place or the severity come spring so that’s always a concern,” said Gavin.
Last year, Gavin said lobster processing plants on the island were okay from a labour perspective with TFW arriving on time and many allowed to stay for 270 days up from 180 days, supplementing the local workforce.
“From a labour perspective, you’re always short but we were kind of back to where we were in 2019. We had workers spring and fall,” said Gavin.
Processors have already put their requests in for TFW in 2022 so all the paperwork is in, said Gavin. “The biggest threat is covid because it impacts everything. The biggest fear is the impact to the workforce.”
