P.E.I. anglers will have to to wait for trout if COVID-19 delays season

They'll be no breakfast this year for sure, but the founder of the Bonshaw Fishermen's Breakfast is hopeful there will still be an angling season on P.E.I.

On Wednesday, provincial cabinet minister Steven Myers said a decision on how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect this year's angling season will be made by April 13.

Sheldon MacNevin, who founded the fishermen's breakfast in the late 1980s and ran it for 28 years, said the pandemic is sure to cancel the event this year.

MacNevin started the breakfast as a simple idea. He opened up the kitchen at the community hall in Bonshaw and invited anglers in for something to eat before the season opened at dawn on April 15.

The first year he welcomed eight people. In his last it was more than 400, and the event had become a major fundraiser for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The new organizers are raising money for the Canadian Mental Health Association.

He met a lot of angling enthusiasts in that time, and he's sure they're anxious to get out on the streams.

"The ice is all gone. The rivers are wide open and the smelts are all up now, which is early for the smelt season," he said.

"There should be some good trout coming up with smelt."

When the season does open, he doesn't think there will be any trouble with physical distancing.

"It's pretty individual. I think they'll space out pretty good because nobody wants the other fellow to know just what he's catching," MacNevin said.

Chris Edmunds of the Winter River Fly Shop agrees it shouldn't be a problem, but he adds there are some places where it could get to be one.

"If you're fly fishing you've got to be at least 10, 15 feet away from somebody when you're casting," he said.

"I have mixed feelings. I really want to go fishing, but I know there's some places where it's going to be crowded up pretty bad and it's going to ruin it for others."

Enforcement trouble

MacNevin would like to get out himself, but he said anglers are easygoing folks, and he doesn't think anyone will kick up a fuss if the opening date is moved.

"I can't see any problem in delaying it for a month. It's pretty cold out around here yet anyway," he said.

But Edmunds worries if there is no season at all there will be off-season poaching, saying there are not enough wardens to control it.

MacNevin said he has a lot of respect for what chief public health officer Dr. Heather Morrison is saying about how the Island needs to protect itself during the pandemic, and he hasn't been out of the house much recently.

"We're isolating ourselves for now. We have been for three weeks. We just go out to get groceries," he said.

"If everybody would just respect that for a while, I think we could have this thing beat."

COVID-19: What you need to know

What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

Common symptoms include:

• Fever.
• Cough.
• Tiredness.

But more serious symptoms can develop, including difficulty breathing and pneumonia, which can lead to death.

Health Canada has built a self-assessment tool.

What should I do if I feel sick?

Isolate yourself and call 811. Do not visit an emergency room or urgent care centre to get tested. A health professional at 811 will give you advice and instructions.

How can I protect myself?

• Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Clean regularly touched surfaces regularly.
• Practise physical distancing.

More detailed information on the outbreak is available on the federal government's website.

More COVID-19 stories from CBC P.E.I.