P.E.I. government announces $8 million plan to help lobster industry

By Andy Walker

FOR THE SOU’WESTER

The P.E.I. government has unveiled an $8 million plan designed to provide help the beleaguered lobster industry.

Even though it is only a few weeks old, this has already been a season Island fishermen would like to forget. The largest processor, Ocean Choice International, imposed a daily limit of 500 pounds and many buyers at island wharves weren’t buying at all for several days leading up to the Mother’s Day. Meanwhile, in the south shore fishery, catches were so low in some ports some fishers were only going out every second day. Prices reached a low of $2.75 “The five-point plan, which has been developed, is a strong statement to the lobster fishery that prices will stabilize and that the marketplace will demand our world class products,” Fisheries Minister Neil LeClair told the legislature. “This industry is too important to rural Prince Edward Island and to the overall economy of this province to go forward without vision or support.”

Under the five-point plan, funding will be provided for the purchase of lobster to be held in live holding systems until it can be processed in an orderly manner, the low interest loan program will be extended and agreement will be sought with federal government partners on a $4 million product development and marketing fund.

Agreement will also be sought for industry rationalization in Lobster Fishing Areas 25 and 26A. The plan also calls for flexibility in the Employment Insurance program to respond to the crisis in the industry.

LeClair said the province will begin buying surplus canner lobster immediately. He added the guidelines of the re-opened low interest loan program will be released in the near future. LeClair said he is actively seeking the support of the federal government and the industry for the remaining elements. “I am confident we will have good things to announce in the coming weeks,” he said. The provincial government will invest a total of $8 million in the action plan. “This five-point plan is another example of the government’s commitment to the fishery in Prince Edward Island,” said LeClair. “It builds on the initiatives, which have already been undertaken, including regulatory amendments to allow easy access for buyers and peddlars, improved communication among all sectors through the Lobster Industry Roundtable and investments in marketing at the local, regional and international levels.”