Prince Edward Island Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Allan Campbell has declared the week of July 8-14 as Aquatic Invasive Species Awareness Week. During this week, the department and the PEI Aquaculture Alliance will participate in a number of activities to promote awareness of the issues related to the impact and spread of aquatic invasive species.
“Aquatic invasive species are becoming a very significant issue in the waters off Prince Edward Island,” said Mr. Campbell. “During this time, we want to increase the public’s awareness of the problem and the measures that can be taken to slow the spread while solutions are being developed.”
Mr. Campbell said issues related to the introductions of new aquatic invasive species have been increasing world wide. In Canada, conservative estimates place the combined economic losses and direct costs associated with invasive species at $5.5 billion. Prince Edward Island is no exception; in total, six new aquatic invaders have been introduced into Island waters since 1997. They are the oyster thief, the green crab, the clubbed tunicate, the golden star tunicate, the violet tunicate and the vase tunicate. “All these invaders are having a serious impact on this province’s valuable shellfish industry,” he said. “The landed value of shellfish is $30 million and economic value to the provincial economy is approximately $60 million. Addressing this growing problem is critical to the future of the industry.”
The Minister said to date that the mussel industry has been the most heavily impacted by the invasive tunicate species.
Mr. Campbell announced a number of activities are being planned to mark the week.
The PEI Aquaculture Alliance has produced a guide to the identification of the aquatic invaders and provides instructions on what to do if they are identified outside of their known range. It also has information on how to properly clean boats to ensure that boating activities do not result in the further spread of invasive species. The Aquaculture Alliance has produced 7,000 booklets which will be distributed to commercial and recreational water users over the summer.
The department is delivering a radio ad campaign over the summer to remind recreational boaters the important role they can play in protecting Island waters from the spread of invasive species. Signs are also being placed at wharves and boat slips around the province reminding boaters to clean their boats and to report any suspicious findings.
As part of Aquatic Invasive Species Week, students from the provincial government’s Environmental Futures Program will be at the Souris Sea Fest, Northport Aquatic Days and Montague Summerfest all on July 8 to distribute information about invasive species.
The Aquaculture Alliance and the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture will also be distributing information at an Out of the Sea and Over the Coals seafood barbecue demonstration featuring fresh Island mussels on Thursday, July 12 at Confederation Landing Park at 1 p.m.
The awareness campaign is being conducted with the support of a number of other federal and provincial departments and agencies and industry organizations. “As the newly-appointed Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, I look forward to strengthening partnerships with all sectors of the industry,” said Mr. Campbell.