P.E.I. tuna boat captains should not be holding their collective breath waiting for another crack at fall quota.
“As far as we know, the tuna fishery is done,†P.E.I. Chief of Resource management for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Colin MacIsaac, said Thursday.
MacIsaac said department officials are still verifying data from the two-day fishery, but he suggested there’s not enough quota remaining, if any, to justify reopening.
There will be a meeting held once all the data is verified to see if something can be arranged, he said.
MacIsaac said there is still some question about the data on six of the 390 tuna Island boats delivered to wharves all over P.E.I. and in Nova Scotia Monday and Tuesday. Dressed weights rather than round weights might have been entered for up to a half dozen fish, he said. Once those weights are verified, he said, there could be anywhere from 129.12 tons to 132.2 tons landed. The Island's quota allocation was 132.15 tons.
Even if three tons are still available, MacIsaac suggested working out a management plan for further fishing it would be difficult, especially considering there are 294 fishermen registered to fish the allocation.
Considering this is the final year of a three-year management plan on tuna, MacIsaac said it's doubtful that any remaining quota will be rolled over to next year. He pointed out though, the Island’s quota was overfished by three tons last year.
Most of the fish were sold on consignment, meaning fishers won’t know what they get for their efforts until the fish arrive in Japan and are sold in the markets.
MacIsaac commended the P.E.I. Tuna Advisory Committee for its work in helping to manage the fishery. He said there were a lot of variables to consider in picking a time to close down the fishery. Leaving it open into Wednesday, he said, would have run the risk of significantly overfishing the allocation. The fishery opened Monday and closed Tuesday at 9 p.m.
