Source: Journal Pioneer
The Canadian Prince Edward Island Bluefin Tuna Fishery was to open at 5 a.m. today and could face a temporary shutdown as early as this evening.
The P.E.I. Fishermen Association’s Tuna Advisory Committee issued a statement Saturday indicating their plan for a one fish per license for the first two weeks of the season has been withdrawn.
The fishery will proceed as originally planned; with fishers allowed to land a maximum of one fish per day per license until 50 per cent of the Island's 132.15 metric ton quota has been caught.
There are about 350 Islanders eligible to participate in the tuna fishery and 288 of them had applied for tags by Friday afternoon.
In a statement, the advisory committee co-chairs acknowledge the Department of Fisheries and Oceans could suspend the fishery as early as this evening.
Nova Scotia’s Gulf area tuna fishery lasted just two days last week. The 104 participants landed 86 fish on the first day of their season, an 82 per cent catch rate.
If similar results occur here – and fishers report numerous sightings of the giant fish around P.E.I. – the Island’s tuna fleet could catch more than half their quota on the first day. The average weight of tuna landed in Nova Scotia was 336 kg.
DFO has advised the PEIFA that, once half the quota has been landed, it will close the fishery until a plan is agreed upon for fishing the remaining quota.
“The Advisory Committee attempted to reach agreement to respond to concerns of anticipated large landings of tuna in a given time frame, however, due to legalities, the recommendations by the Advisory were not enforceable at this time and gentlemen’s agreement could not be attained. With this said, the fishery will go forward, as previously planned with a one fish per day per license holder,†the committee’s Saturday statement read in part.
Tuna fishers held a series of meetings on Saturday morning and voted against the committee’s plan, which would have limited them to one fish per license for the first two weeks of the season. When the committee announced that restriction on Thursday, it indicated it was intended to help prevent a glut, a situation that normally drives down prices.