Premier Pat Binns is urging the Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to take immediate action to get a group of North Cape area fishers back on their traditional fishing grounds before the lobster season ends.
Last month, 28 Island fishers received illegal fishing warnings after setting traps in the same area they have been fishing for decades. While the area in question is approximately five miles off North Cape and some 90 miles from the Îles de la Madeleine, the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans has said it is in Quebec waters.
Premier Binns spoke with Federal Minister Robert Thibault today to impress upon him the importance of finding an immediate resolution to the boundary line dispute.
"While there is a need to sit down and come to a long-term solution for fishers in the North Cape area, in the short term, we have been asking the Federal Minister to provide a mechanism to allow these fishers to access their traditional fishing grounds," said Premier Binns.
Tignish-DeBlois MLA, Hon. Gail Shea, noted that generations of fishers in the North Cape region have fished in the disputed territory for decades without incident.
"We were extremely disappointed to hear the Federal Minister say recently that a resolution is unlikely before the end of the season. Mr. Thibault needs to reconsider his position and take action now to permit Island fishers to earn their livelihood," said Shea.
The Minister of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Environment, Chester Gillan, has also been pressing his federal counterpart to resolve the boundary line issue. Minister Gillan will take the opportunity to reiterate PEI's position with the Federal Minister at the Atlantic Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers meeting in Halifax Tuesday.