COLUMN: Licence buyback plan becomes election issue

I suppose it is proof of that classic maximum that "all politics is local."

Fishermen in area 25, the fall lobster fishery in P.E.I., have been battling declining catches for the past several years.

The fishing area actually encompasses all three Maritime provinces, but the majority of the fishers are in Island ports. This year, catches were down in some areas close to 10 per cent and prices were off by close to 25 per cent from last year.

The P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association and provincial governments of both political stripes – the Conservatives under Pat Binns until June 2007 and the Robert Ghiz Liberals since then – have been arguing for a licence buyback program. The association had been using some of the revenue from its management of the snow crab issue to purchase some licences. However that number was relatively small and a Supreme Court decision earlier this year has now seen the practice stopped.

So far, federal governments of both political stripes have turned thumbs down on the idea of a large scale buyback. A report commissioned by the previous Conservative provincial government recommended 10 per cent of the 800 plus fishing licences for area 25 should be permanently retired.

Most of the Island fishermen in the fishing area reside within the federal constituency of Egmont– the most westerly of the four Island ridings. Incumbent Joe McGuire has decided to retire and the seat is seen by both parties as hotly contested. This despite the fact it has been held by the Liberals since 1980.

The race features two former high profile provincial politicians and they are both vowing they will fight to have a buyback program in place if they are sent to Ottawa on Oct. 14. Gail Shea is the Conservative candidate and she vows "as your MP, I will work with the Conservative government, area fishers and industry stakeholders to develop and implement options to reduce the fishing effort, including a license buy-back program." She argues a multi-year plan is needed to permanently reduce the fishing effort.

Her opponent is former premier Keith Milligan. He is hoping a $70-million plan included in the Liberal election platform that would target aresa suffering declining fishing stocks could be put to work in area 25.

"Reducing the fishing effort will benefit those that stay in the fishery and it help those wishing to leave to exit with dignity," suggests Milligan. "The time to lobby for a licence retirement program is passed. The time to commit is now."

Whether the eventual winner will have any success in having the buyback program in place remains to be seen. However, it is becoming clearer and clearer the only way to improve the situation is to limit the number of fishers.

The simple math is the current stocks simply don’t make the fishery economically viable unless the number of fishers is reduced.