Fisheries and Environment Minister Kevin J. MacAdam feels that PEI's temporary allocation of shrimp in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, announced this week by Federal Fisheries Minister David Anderson, is "paltry." "I don't wish to appear ungrateful, however, this allocation is insultingly small in view of the size of the quota increase being implemented this season," stated the Minister.
PEI interests have been seeking permanent access to the Gulf shrimp fishery since the mid-1980's. In his announcement this week, the Federal Minister allocated the amount of 75 MT on a "temporary" basis for the 1998 season to PEI interests. Overall, the quota for Gulf shrimp has been increased by over 3,000 MT, and has now been raised by some 40% in the last three years. "In this period, the Federal Government has had an ideal opportunity to make the sharing of access to this valuable resource more fair and equitable. However, in spite of our announced share for 1998, they have failed almost completely," said Mr. MacAdam.
"This and other recent decisions have me very concerned that there is no clear and firm Federal policy to spread access to these types of fisheries fairly among regions," the Minister continued. "I wish to assure the Federal Government that I will continue to strongly protest these recent allocation decisions and renew our claim that this Province must gain greater access to these valuable regional resources."