Minister Responds to Issue of Professionalization Raised by Concerned Fishermen

Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Kevin MacAdam has released a statement to Prince Edward Island fishermen on the issue of professionalization. Following is a text of the statement.

Minister Kevin MacAdam, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture has been inundated with calls from fishers concerned about professionalization, and what the position of the Province is on this issue. Professionalization is an initiative of the federal government through the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Minister MacAdam said that last year he was approached by the Prince Edward Island Council of Professional Fish Harvesters to be informed about a series of province wide meetings, designed to give information to fishers on professionalization. These meetings did not take place as planned. A vote on the DFO proposal was conducted in the late spring of 2004. The vast majority of fishers did not vote on the issue, and the four percent that did vote were opposed.

Given the low level of interest, Minister MacAdam feels that the majority of core fishers are not in favor of professionalization. Therefore the province has taken the position that professionalization is not an issue. Minister MacAdam says, “Professionalization is a dead issue and is not on our radar screen.”