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CBC
27-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
P.E.I. snow crab fishers to start 2025 season grappling with reduced quota, trade concerns
Social Sharing Snow crab fishers on Prince Edward Island are preparing to start their fishing season next week facing a 33 per cent reduction in the amount they're allowed to catch. The reduction is based on recommendations from scientists with the federal Department of Oceans and Fisheries, who have expressed concerns about the health of snow crab stocks. The stocks tend to rise and fall on a 10-year cycle, and the crab population is now at a below-average mark. "We're kind of on a downhill swing here," said Carter Hutt, president of the P.E.I. Snow Crab Association. "The projection for next year is even down another 10 to 20 per cent," he said, adding that the upswing should be starting again around 2027. "We know it's going to come back… it just takes time for them to get back up to the legal size," Hutt said. The quota reduction for the 2025 fishing season comes as P.E.I.'s seafood industries are wondering about the impacts of U.S. and Chinese tariffs on one of the province's major exports. "There's a lot of variables this year," Hutt said — variables that he thinks will definitely affect the price of snow crab. Fishing for new markets The combination of tariffs and a quota reduction will definitely have an impact on the bottom line of fishermen, Hutt said. "With the price of bait and fuel and everything going the way it's been going the last few years, it's going to make [incomes]… pretty small after you pay all your expenses," he said. "I sure hope Trump makes a decision on April 2 and doesn't put the tariffs on." At the Seafood Expo North America in Boston earlier this month, Canadian crab and lobster industry representatives talked about exploring and developing new markets. Hutt said about 80 per cent of product has been exported to the U.S. in recent years, adding: "We definitely need to expand and look for new markets, for sure. "People seem to be interested in the product, but now what the price is going to be — we'll have to wait and see." Fishing season While there are many variables affecting this year's snow crab fishing season, one thing seems certain: Fishers will be back out on the water at the beginning of April, eager to catch their share of the allowable catch. "The only thing to stop us right now from going on April 1st? It's probably weather," Hutt said. Then P.E.I. fishers will be watching for the return of endangered North Atlantic right whales, which usually happens in early May. If any are spotted in a particular region, the area can be closed to fishing boats, either temporarily or for the whole season. "It's looking great if we can get out on the water early," Hutt said. "Last year, a high percentage of the fishers were done before the whales even showed up, and that's great.
CBC
22-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
P.E.I. snow crab fishery faces deep cuts in catches as U.S. tariffs loom
Social Sharing P.E.I. snow crab fishers are facing a big cut in how much they can catch in 2025, with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans recommending a 33 per cent reduction in their quota in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. That number is based on concerns about the health of the crab population, and comes as the threat of a U.S. tariff looms over the industry. "It kind of hits you hard because it's a substantial amount of crab to lose and it's a substantial income to lose," said Alden Gaudet, who fishes snow crab out of Tignish Run and is vice-president of the P.E.I. Snow Crab Association. This year's reduction comes on the heels of a similar cut last season. 2 hours ago Duration 2:18 P.E.I. snow crab fishers are facing a big cut in how much they can catch in 2025. The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans is recommending a major reduction in the quota in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, just as the threat of a U.S. tariff looms over the industry. Nancy Russell has the story. "I believe we'll be dropping about 20,000 pounds per licence this year, and I believe we dropped 21,000 pounds per P.E.I. licence last year," Gaudet said. "So it's on par with the drop. It's kind of a little bit scary, seeing two years with such substantial drops." Concern over stocks DFO scientists say they're worried about the health of stocks of snow crab in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. They tend to rise and fall on a 10-year cycle, and are now below average. "As it stands now, we're predicting another decrease, probably a more modest decrease for next year," DFO biologist Tobie Surette said during a media briefing on snow crab stocks. "In two to three years time, we're expecting — if everything continues to go according to plan — that the commercial stock will have an influx of new crab coming in. So the commercial biomass should go up at that time." Surette said there had been a surge in the number of small snow crab starting in 2019, but that "pulse," as he called it, has dwindled over the last couple of years. "It's an open question, whether the population could sustain such a large number of small crab in the first place," he said. "It's possible that they were too densely aggregated for the food and the environment to sustain them all." If there's a limit in food availability, it's the smaller crab that can suffer at the hands of the larger ones. — Tobie Surette, DFO biologist Another theory? "Snow crab is also a cannibalistic species. It's known that larger crab can eat smaller ones. So if there's a limit in food availability, it's the smaller crab that can suffer at the hands of the larger ones." Surette said DFO does a trawl survey every summer in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence to collect information on the size and the composition of the snow crab population. Partnership proposal The snow crab industry in the region gave DFO a proposal of its own, knowing the cuts were coming. They lobbied for what's called a 200 per cent partnership, in which two licence holders can team up on one boat, Gaudet said. That would let them use one boat to harvest from 150 traps, "which would save substantial cost on crew shares, bait, fuel," he said. "It would mean that the boats would come in with more crab on them, so there's a chance that they can come in with their quota faster." The crab will still move, but it's gonna move way slower because brokers are not interested in taking the losses like they took three years ago. Gaudet said the minister of fisheries denied the request, despite the threats of U.S. tariffs that could substantially change the price of Canadian crab. He said the minister didn't give any reason for rejecting the proposal. He said the 25 per cent tariffs being floated by U.S. President Donald Trump could make snow crab too expensive for the average consumer, the way it was a few years ago. "The crab will still move, but it's gonna move way slower because brokers are not interested in taking the losses like they took three years ago," Gaudet said. "They'll be buying crab, but they'll be buying it in very small amounts and they won't be buying more until they actually move these small amounts of crab." Gaudet said there are also discussions about starting the snow crab season earlier so that boats could avoid the annual migration of North Atlantic right whales into the Gulf, which is another concern.
