'Stressed' P.E.I. oyster harvesters 'want to get back on the water' after MSX shutdowns

Dwayne Shaw and his wife have been fishing the waters of P.E.I.'s Bedeque Bay for oysters and quahogs for nearly 30 years. 

Since last week, he and others who rely on shellfish harvesting for their livelihood have been growing increasingly concerned about what the future holds. 

That's how long it's been since the presence of multinuclear sphere X (MSX) shut down the oyster fishery in Bedeque Bay. 

Shaw now wonders how he's going to pay his bills if he can't get back on the water. 

"It's hard on the mental health. You're stressed all the time: 'Where's the paycheque coming [from] next week?' And most of our fishermen have been doing it most of our lives," Shaw told CBC News on Monday. 

"I could probably name you 20 guys that I know. We have no education. What else would we do? We have no skill set. This is what we've done our whole life." 

MSX disease is not harmful to humans, but it can impact oysters' growth and kill many of them. It had never been spotted north of Maine until 2002, when it was detected in Cape Breton. It has affected the industry there ever since.

Now it may be spreading from Bedeque Bay, by means of oysters from there that were transferred to other P.E.I. waterways before the MSX outbreak was confirmed. Late Friday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it was placing more areas under quarantine after presumptive positive test results for MSX.

The P.E.I. Aquaculture Alliance said samples from three of 10 sites the CFIA tested were positive. Officials said the cases will require further genetic testing to be confirmed. More results are expected this week.

Neither the CFIA nor the aquaculture alliance is naming the locations of the leases newly under quarantine, citing privacy concerns. 

This will be a significant adaptation by the industry, in all its facets, but still early days and I am positive it's something we can manage.— Peter Warris

Officials with those bodies, the province and Fisheries and Oceans Canada met again Monday, mainly to discuss possible ways to ensure P.E.I. oysters can continue to be processed and sent to market, perhaps through the permitting process. 

"This will be a significant adaptation by the industry, in all its facets, but still early days and I am positive it's something we can manage," Peter Warris, executive director of the P.E.I. Aquaculture Alliance, told CBC News in an email. 

Shaw hopes the groups can come with a plan that will allow him to get back on the water soon. 

"I wonder sometimes if the people that are in charge don't realize the sense of urgency. Maybe they do, [but] I feel the information needs to come out faster," he said.

"It's not just a couple of hundred fishermen… It's the thousands that work in all these plants, the guys that truck it — it's everybody that's involved. It's not just the fishermen."

'I just want to go to work'

Officials with the P.E.I. Fisheries Department said they're waiting for more test results to determine how to help the industry. 

"While some preliminary results have been communicated to industry and to the province, the CFIA continues to lead on the investigation and all decisions pertaining to quarantine measures," a spokesperson for the department said in an email Monday.

"Therefore, we will continue to work with the federal government to ensure that we get information as quickly as possible both for our industry and to better identify what types of supports are best suited and needed for the industry."

I'm not looking for a handout. I don't want anything from anybody. I just want to go to work.—Dwayne Shaw

The CFIA has said it will continue to do "targeted" sampling based on the movements of oysters from infected areas. The aquaculture alliance is also investigating dead oysters found on a public bed in the Mill River area.

For Shaw, a solution can't come soon enough. 

"I just want to get back on the water and make a living," he said. "I'm not looking for a handout. I don't want anything from anybody. I just want to go to work."