P.E.I. harbours need major dredging, not 'putting little bandages on it,' DFO is told

Gwyneth Egan · CBC News

· Posted: May 01, 2025 8:48 PM EDT | Last Updated: 41 minutes ago

Some P.E.I. fishermen are calling for much thorough dredging of the Island's harbours aft a challenging commencement to the lobster sportfishing play connected the North Shore.

More than a twelve North Rustico lobster sportfishing boats were stranded offshore by a operation of sandbars, precocious winds and an highly debased tide connected Tuesday afternoon, and issues were also reported successful Naufrage and Milligan's Wharf. 

That led immoderate fishers to deed the h2o aboriginal Wednesday, with immoderate rushing done their cogwheel to guarantee they made it backmost into the harbour earlier debased tide. 

"Personally, myself, I missed 2 afloat days owed to upwind and due to the fact that of the tides," said Blake Buote, who has been sportfishing successful North Rustico for astir 25 years. "I missed astir a 3rd of a time due to the fact that we had to unreserved the hauled cogwheel to get successful earlier the tides were excessively low." 

Year aft year, the conditions successful harbours crossed the Island look to beryllium getting worse, Buote said, adding that this twelvemonth is the worst he's seen. 

"This is simply a serious, unsafe concern successful galore harbours. It's a two-month season. Losing a time is simply a batch much than radical think. It's fundamentally hr for hour, trap for trap," helium said. 

"It's going to travel to a constituent wherever each harbour is going to request a dredge, but each they're doing is putting small bandages connected it." 

Fisheries and Oceans Canada told CBC News successful an email connection earlier this week that dredging successful the North Rustico transmission took spot betwixt April 23 and 26, fixed that traps were being acceptable for the archetypal clip during that clip span. 

The connection said P.E.I.'s North Shore is experiencing a play of peculiarly debased tides owed to the caller moon, but tidal forecasts suggest a instrumentality to mean levels by adjacent week. 

'It's not a laughing, joking matter' 

The dredging that took spot successful the North Rustico transmission wasn't enough, said Buote, adding that the Hymac heavy instrumentality utilized to determination soil tin bash lone truthful much, since it operates from the onshore during debased tide. 

In comparison, a dredge that works from the h2o tin suck up and determination sand, helium said. 

"New boats present are worthy a cardinal dollars. These lobster licences, depending connected the harbour, could beryllium $2.5 million," helium said. "That's a batch of wealth to beryllium talking about, and it's not a laughing, joking matter." 

Over the years, the North Rustico harbour has gotten sanded successful much and more, helium said. Post-tropical tempest Fiona damaged the breakwater successful North Rustico, which Buote said doesn't assistance the situation. 

"On apical of the breakwater being damaged, deficiency of crystal and deficiency of assistance from DFO and Small Craft Harbours, boats are going to proceed to beryllium damaged, radical are going to get wounded oregon perchance killed," Buote said. 

'It's an Island-wide thing' 

In Naufrage, the dredging that was done earlier lobster play wasn't capable for that harbour either, said Ian MacKinnon, skipper of the lobster boat Y'Knot. 

"Every harbour needs to beryllium dredged," helium said. "It's not conscionable us. It's an Island-wide thing, and it's truly got to beryllium looked astatine soon due to the fact that there's a batch of wealth progressive here."

Lots of boats that should person been astatine oversea checking and emptying their traps were tied up connected Wednesday, MacKinnon said.

"[It] was a time erstwhile you picked up the traps and you dropped them, beauteous much," helium said. 

"If you heard determination was amended sportfishing somewhere, you couldn't bash excessively overmuch astir it due to the fact that you were acrophobic astir being stuck retired successful the h2o successful precocious winds and debased tides." 

In the long-term, MacKinnon said helium would similar to spot the breakwalls connected the tally successful Naufrage Harbour extended. But DFO's Small Craft Harbours programme hasn't been supportive of that idea, helium said. 

In the abbreviated term, the Island's harbours request much wealth to bash much dredging, helium said. 

"After a large stroke oregon a large windstorm, we're backmost to quadrate 1 again."