Honourable Kevin J. MacAdam, PEI Minister of Fisheries and Environment, reacted angrily today to the recent announcement by Federal Minister David Anderson of the management plan for the northern shrimp fishery. "We fully expected that the Federal Minister would use this opportunity to create a license in this lucrative fishery for a PEI-based interest," he stated, "but instead he has opted to allocate all the quota increase to inshore vessels from Newfoundland and Labrador and the existing license-holders."
The northern shrimp fishery has seventeen permanent licenses for larger offshore operations, and since 1997, a temporary sharing program solely for fleets immediately adjacent to the fishing grounds off the East Coast. A dramatic increase in the resource has created the opportunity to increase the quota substantially in the last two years.
"This fishery was developed as an offshore fishery since 1977 by spreading the access and benefits among industry interests in all East Coast jurisdictions, except PEI," explained the Minister. "This year and last, as this fishery was more than doubling in size, the Federal Minister has had an ideal opportunity to correct this inequity, but he has failed to do so. This decision is blatantly unfair to the Island fishing industry and the Island economy which would benefit from participation in this fishery."
MacAdam has already sent his views forward to the Federal Minister and will take the first available opportunity to express his frustration in person. "This decision confirms my view that the Federal policy guiding allocations and access to developing fisheries on the East Coast is sorely lacking, and I certainly intend to pursue this matter with the Federal Minister and my Provincial colleagues at the earliest opportunity," he remarked.