Lobster fishermen worry fishery closures will create bait supply issues in coming years

Lobster fishermen in P.E.I. say they're concerned the federal government's shutdown of mackerel and herring fisheries will have them scrambling to get bait in next year's fishing season.

Last week, Fisheries and Oceans Canada shut down commercial harvesting of herring in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Atlantic mackerel in Atlantic Canada and Quebec amid dwindling stocks.

The two species are important sources of bait for the lobster industry.

Some Island fishermen say they were caught off guard by the announcement as they prepare for setting day about a month from now.

"It's tough on fishermen because … we need the bait to fish lobster," said Mallory Harris, who fishes in North Lake.

Other fishermen said they're already seeing the price of bait for lobster traps increase. 

Jeff MacNeill said he's been getting calls from people in the industry asking where they could get frozen bait. He said he's already heard of prices going up by as much as 50 cents per pound.

A fishing boat usually uses about 500 pounds of bait a day. MacNeill said that fishermen generally use fresh mackerel or herring for the bulk of the fishing season.

"I believe we're in dire straits, I really do," he said.

"It's going to be more expensive with the price of rising fuel costs and everything else going up. But now we're going to have to deal with shortage of bait along with it."

More uncertainty

Fishermen say that while they aren't too concerned about securing bait for this fishing season, the fisheries closure may start impacting supply next year.

There are more than seven million pounds of bait currently stored in deep freeze at the Souris Harbour Authority's freezing facility, which supplies about 500 fishermen.

General manager Andy Daggett said that's about a year's worth of bait.

"We're not sure where the bait comes from next year," he said.

"A lot of this product will be coming out in the next couple of months.... The biggest thing is now what do they do after that? Where's the new product coming from? So I think that's almost top of people's minds now, almost more than what are we doing this year."

The P.E.I. government said it's already in talks with local manufacturers and overseas suppliers to try to secure alternative baits.

'I told you so'

The mackerel and herring populations have been depleting for over a decade, mainly due to overfishing as well as predation from other animals such as grey seals.

The federal government has previously made attempts to save the stocks such as implementing catch limits. But the DFO said "urgent action" needs to be taken in the short-term to allow for the stocks to recover.

Terry Harris, Mallory's father, took part in protests against overfishing by N.B. herring seiner boats on P.E.I.'s north shore almost two decades ago.

"Definitely a sense of I told you so," he said. 

"It is scary to watch … any fishery get decimated by anybody. We are the biggest for conservation for sure, because fishing [in small rural communities], anywhere you're from in P.E.I. is a family-run business. And, you know, we want to support P.E.I."