P.E.I. oyster harvesters enjoy new campground improvements
Jessica Doria-Brown | CBC News | Posted: May 12, 2016 9:00 AM | Last Updated: May 12, 2016
Bedeque Bay campground full of fishermen each night, with waiting list
Oyster harvesters in western P.E.I. say their season is off to a good start, thanks to a campground where they can pull in their boats and pull off their waders at the end of each day.
The Hurd's Point Campground isn't new, but this year, all 60 sites are booked, and there's a waiting list to get in.
The president of the Prince Edward Island Shellfish Association, Brenda Campbell, says that's because significant improvements have been made to Hurd's Point Road, making access to the park, and the Bedeque Bay fishing area, easier and more reliable.
Got 'er made now.
- Leo Campbell, oyster buyer
"It's indescribable," she said. "If there was no interest, you wouldn't be full and you wouldn't have a waiting list."
The Hurd's Point Campground has been owned and operated by the shellfish association since 2005, and it's a far cry from what oyster harvesters lived with in decades past.
Leo Campbell is a buyer for Burleigh Brothers Seafood, and remembers what the area looked like back in 1981.
"They had homemade shacks, homemade trailers, some of them were lucky enough to have a bought one," he described.
Campbell said the Hurd's Point Campground, now complete with laundry, washrooms and hot showers, means a lot to fishermen after a long day on the water.
"They love it, it's a big step up, you've got electricity, plumbing and heating, it's great now ... even got a canteen. Got 'er made now."
Big savings
For the more than 120 fishermen camping at Hurd's Point for the season, which generally runs May 1 to July 15, the campground offers a substantial savings in both time and fuel.
Instead of going anywhere from Tignish to Morell every evening after work, then back the next day, fishermen can haul in on the slip, and then stay at the Hurd's Point Campground, at a rate of $460 for the entire season.
$25 of that is their annual shellfish association membership fee.
Campbell said making the campground available isn't just about raising funds for the association, it's about building a sense of community among wild oyster harvesters.
"At the end of the day, you're meeting more fishermen, you're finding out what's going on, getting opinions out there, which is desperately hard, especially in our industry, because we're spread out all over the place," she explained.
The new canteen opens from 5:30 a.m. until 8 p.m., serving everything from coffee to hamburgers.
Proceeds from the canteen are split three ways: Between the owner of the food truck, the people running it, and the shellfish association.
Campbell said the campground turns a profit, and that money goes back to the association.
Charlottetown expansion next
Next, the focus will be on setting up something similar for oyster harvesters closer to Charlottetown.
"There is a need for a trailer park down around the Charlottetown area," Campbell said. "We would like to see something on a much smaller scale. We're not there yet but there's still a strong committee trying to get it."
In the meantime, the association is looking for more ways to bring in revenue through the Hurd's Point Campground.
Campbell said the plan is to rent it out to others, but details on how that would work are still being finalized.
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