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North Rustico charter boats say low tides in silted-in harbour will cost them big this season
North Rustico charter boats say low tides in silted-in harbour will cost them big this season

CBC

time28-05-2025

  • Business
  • CBC

North Rustico charter boats say low tides in silted-in harbour will cost them big this season

With spring lobster fishing crews already navigating extremely low tides in North Rustico's harbour, the problems may just be starting for tourism boats in the community on P.E.I.'s North Shore. Getting vessels in and out of the harbour is always a tricky challenge — it's narrow and has lots of twists and turns. But back on April 29, a combination of very low tides, gusty winds and sand accumulation on the sea bed left more than a dozen lobster boats stranded in the harbour. It was well into the evening before the tides rose enough for them to get back to the wharf without bottoming out in the sandy channel. Julie Ann Gauthier was on one of those stranded lobster boats, but her concerns about water depth go beyond the end of the commercial fishery on June 25. She's also the co-owner of Joey's Deep Sea Fishing, a charter service that begins operating for the summer as the spring lobster season comes to an end. Gauthier said the tide forecast is forcing the business to cancel at least a full week of sailing in both July and August. "That also means the wages for all those employees, the tax dollars that go back into this island to help it run — it's just taking money off the table," she said. "It's also disappointing so many visitors who are… waiting for so long to come and get their first experience deep-sea fishing." Gauthier said the problem could be solved if Fisheries and Oceans Canada dredged the channel again, and has been calling Malpeque MP Heath MacDonald daily to try to make that happen. She's also drafting a letter on behalf of all the deep sea fishers in the area, calling on DFO to take immediate action. Dredging needed more than in past More P.E.I. harbours have needed dredging in recent years, in part because there's less sea ice to keep the shifting sand in check. DFO is responsible for maintaining P.E.I.'s network of fishing harbours. It routinely dredges to deepen the channels, which helps prevent boats from running aground when they enter or leave a harbour. Michelle Boyce of the charter company Atlantic Sailing P.E.I. said she needs three and a half feet to safely navigate the North Rustico channel. Currently, she said, there's less than three feet of depth. Her company's sailing season begins Sunday, but she said they've already cancelled 70 tours this season based on what the tide charts say about the expected water depth at low tide. Users may consider navigating the channel by adjusting their plans for periods of low tides. There are no plans to carry out additional dredging at this time. "We need a safe harbour so that we can get in and out safely with those guests on board," Boyce said. "It's not being provided to us at this point, and the loss of revenue is one thing, but loss of equipment, damage to equipment and passenger safety are huge concerns of ours." Boyce bought a new boat with a shallower hull depth ahead of this season, hoping to have to cancel fewer tours. But even lobster fishing boats, which can navigate in less water than her boat and have more engine power to help push them through, had to come in early on Tuesday to avoid getting stuck. Having just recovered from the loss of customers during the COVID-19 pandemic, Boyce doesn't know how much more of a financial hit the business can take before it's not viable to sail out of North Rustico anymore. "There's nothing worse than calling somebody and disappointing them and telling them that their vacation plans have changed and they can't do what they wanted," she said. "My livelihood starts on Sunday. I make my annual income in three months, and if I lose that income, I don't know where I'm going." No more dredging planned 'at this time': DFO CBC News reached out to DFO about dredging and received a short statement "Fisheries and Oceans Canada carries out dredging in support of the commercial fishery when required and subject to available funding," it said. "Dredging at North Rustico took place ahead of the lobster season, which opened on April 25. "Users may consider navigating the channel by adjusting their plans for periods of low tides. There are no plans to carry out additional dredging at this time."

The hell of high water: North Rustico cafe will be on the move to avoid more flooding
The hell of high water: North Rustico cafe will be on the move to avoid more flooding

CBC

time21-05-2025

  • Business
  • CBC

The hell of high water: North Rustico cafe will be on the move to avoid more flooding

Social Sharing The Blue Mussel Café will be moving from its current site in North Rustico after this tourism season because the owners can't face a future that involves risking their livelihood in a flood zone. Christine McQuaid and her husband Steve Murphy own the popular restaurant, which has been at its current location for 12 years. "In 2022, we had Fiona, and it was devastating," McQuaid said of the post-tropical storm that swept over Prince Edward Island after creating havoc on its path north from the Caribbean. "The water came right through here... Everything was ruined," she said. Then last year, the UPEI Climate Lab released an updated interactive mapping tool called CHRIS (for Climate Hazard and Risk Information System) to show users which parts of the province are most at risk from rising seawater and extreme storms. Turns out the Blue Mussel is located in one of them. Luckily, McQuaid and Murphy had insurance at the time, but not everything was covered. And worse was to come. "In 2024, our insurance skyrocketed and then we had no flood coverage with it. And so our broker tried and tried and tried to go place to place to place to find somebody to cover it, and it's just — no one will do it," she said. McQuaid said she doesn't think they're alone in trying to find coverage, especially after a storm like Fiona. 'We do have the potential to lose it at any moment,' owner says as Blue Mussel Café prepares to move 10 minutes ago Duration 2:13 A popular restaurant in the P.E.I. town of North Rustico is leaving the harbour after one last tourism season after their site was officially declared to be in a flood zone. Post-tropical storm Fiona severely damaged the area, and the Blue Mussel Café's owners have decided to move to higher ground. CBC's Sheehan Desjardins has more. "I'm not terribly sure, but I feel like the insurance companies are using that [CHRIS] map as a guideline... and I can understand. Why would they want to insure something that's sitting in a flood zone?" High tide anxiety The couple finally came to the decision they had to move late last year. "Last December and last January, two different days we got a phone call... It was a high tide day and we were told we better come take a look," Murphy said. They drove to the restaurant and pulled into the parking lot. "There was three feet of water, and we sat in the truck with the water going underneath the truck, and [it was] around this close from the water taking on the building again," he said. The first time, Murphy thought the high water was just a "one-off" occurrence. "It happened again in January and we started thinking, you know, 'We gotta do something.'" Moving next to Oyster Bed Bridge On the drive home, Murphy said they spotted a "for sale" sign on a restaurant about 10 minutes away from the Blue Mussel, the former RiverShed restaurant across from Gaudreau's Fine Woodworking. "We drove by Oyster Bed Bridge and we saw this restaurant for sale, and it was high and dry... It was nowhere near the flood zone, and we thought: 'That would make a pretty good Blue Mussel one day.'" Murphy said the new spot is the same size, but with lots of parking, and is a "beautiful spot, right on the water." The couple didn't want to have to leave their current location, and will be still operating out of North Rustico Harbour this summer, but Murphy said they have to take the threat of flooding seriously. Operators discuss how climate change threatens P.E.I.'s tourism industry 10 months ago Duration 2:00 Canada's Tourism Minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada was in P.E.I. this week as part of an effort to help operators prepare for climate change. CBC's Wayne Thibodeau spoke with Martinez Ferrada, as well as Chad Heron, CEO of Cows, and Blue Mussel Cafe owner Steve Murphy about the devastation of post-tropical storm Fiona in 2022 and how it hurt their businesses. "It was a once-in-100-[years] storm when Fiona came through, and it was high, but in December we were this close without even a storm, so I think that once-in-100-years will get closer and closer," he said. "To find out we're in a flood zone — we have to take that seriously." "It's a really hard decision, but I think it'll be one of those things where five years down the road, I'll look back and say, 'OK, it was the right decision,'" McQuaid said. "I'm struggling now with the decision... and I struggled all through the process of making the decision. "I went back and forth in my mind a lot, but I do know sometimes your head has to come before your heart, and yeah, our heart's in this place for sure."

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