Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Jim Bagnall sees further growth potential in the Prince Edward Island bluefin tuna fishery. He will be seeking additional quota during the review of fleet quota this fall by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans and will also be discussing with the industry measures which can be adopted to maximize returns to fishers.
This past season, a total of 615 tuna were landed in Island ports, with a landed weight of just over 215 metric tonnes. That is an increase of 15 tonnes in landings over last year, and is in part due to an increased quota over 2005.
“I want to congratulate everyone in the tuna fishery for the success of this year’s season,” said Mr. Bagnall. “We will continue to work closely with tuna fishers and the federal government to support a stronger and more sustainable fishery.”
Mr. Bagnall said that Prince Edward Island will continue to seek its fair share of the tuna quota during the upcoming review of the management plan this fall.
“Prince Edward Island has 50 percent of the tuna licenses in the region, but only has 30 percent of the quota,” said Mr. Bagnall. “Obviously we want to provide more access for our fishers to this resource.”
The minister said he is also interested in pursuing measures in cooperation with the industry to improve returns to fishers. He said he would like to see steps that would result in better timing of landings in response to market fluctuations during the season. He also said that improving the quality of landings would result in higher returns to fishers.
“I am looking forward to discussions with the industry on measures that can be taken to improve the harvesting and marketing of this important resource,” said Mr. Bagnall.
The minister said that the province will also be looking for additional quota for the balance of this year. There are close to 300 metric tonnes of quota remaining from other fleets in the region.