State of Northumberland Strait cause for concern

By Joan LeBlanc

FOR THE SOU’WESTER

The state of the Northumberland Strait is a cause for concern for many people involved in the commercial fishing industry.

Water quality, lack of fish species and an apparent excessive amount of siltation are just a few of the concerns being voiced by area fishermen as well as others concerned about the strait.

Bayfield, New Brunswick resident Gary O’Hanley has been fishing the waters of the Northumberland Strait for more than 50 years. He talked recently about the decline of the fishery in the strait and what he believes are the reasons behind its current downfall.

“Mother Nature plays some part in it…then there’s the problem of the farmer’s pesticides – and that’s a big problem on the Island - to toilets running into it, to fishermen selling lobsters over the side, because that goes on too. But the bridge has played a big part in it, always has. This is what’s causing everything to be scarce,” O’Hanley said.

He said this is the third time in his fishing career that he’s experienced a decline in the lobster fishery in the Northumberland Strait and he feels that despite the fact that there are many contributing factors involved in that decline, the fishermen in LFA 25, more specifically the southeast corner of New Brunswick and northern Nova Scotia, are being made to pay the price.

“The fishermen are being asked to pay for the mistakes involved in the building of this bridge. They told us we’ve got to change our traps, we’ve got to change our rings, we’ve got change (the size of) our lobsters, when the only thing they’ve done (the federal government regulations) outside of this area was raise the lobster size and that was 30 years ago. We tried to get it done here (implementation of a larger legal lobster size for markets and canners) years ago, but they wouldn’t do it,” he said.

O’Hanley believes that pressure from fishermen in other areas is the reason that the Department of Fisheries is hesitant to increase the legal lobster size. But, he said, he believes that if that were implemented, it could play a large part in a revival of the lobster catches in this area of the Northumberland Strait.

“It just makes sense. I’ve told the DFO guys not to make us use rings that target the smaller lobsters. If there are no small lobsters, there won’t be any at all in the years to come,” he explained.

Bob Allain, Regional Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture Management, said recently that there are many kinds of issues with regards to the state of the Northumberland Strait.

“It’s a huge issue and there are many kinds of things being done as well,” he noted.

The fisheries conference held in Charlottetown, P.E.I. in July, 2006 which was co-chaired by federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn brought together many groups including those in the industry, environmental organizations and representatives of the aboriginal community to address issues affecting the Northumberland Strait.

“There were some environmental issues that have a lot to do with land use – land erosion, point-source pollution issues – the Confederation Bridge, and I know Gary still feels that there’s definitely been a physical impact as a result of the bridge which has altered tides and currents, and caused excessive siltation; and the fishery issue because the lobster fishery in the central strait hasn’t been what it was in the 1970s and 80s, and herring as well as other groundfish haven’t been sustainable for some time,” he explained.

Allain noted that the day-long session produced several working groups comprising various stakeholders which began to research the issues and develop practical solutions that fisheries ministers can look at with a view to bringing about improvement to all of the concerns.

He added that three working groups, each of which is chaired by both federal and provincial fisheries personnel, were formed to address habitat restoration and the environment, economic diversification and alternative management measures.

One group that was formed one year prior to last year’s conference is working on an ocean action plan for the Northumberland Strait.

“We think this action plan will get special status from the federal government, which will trigger federal funding. We’re looking for an announcement on this within the near future. This plan is well advanced and they have completed a number of studies and proposed projects, as have the other two groups as well…this is all coming together as we speak,” he said.

(Joan LeBlanc resides is a freelance journalist who resides in New Brunswick and is a new contributor to the Sou’Wester.)