Ready to go
Island crab fleet waiting for ice to clear in northern New Brunswick
Snow crab fishermen on P.E.I. are gearing up for what could be a banner year for their fishery.
Carter Hutt, president of the P.E.I. Snow Crab Association, said the quota for Area 12 in the Southern Gulf, where the Island boats fish, has doubled from last year.
Fishermen have not been given their individual boat quotas yet, but Hutt is expecting they will be able to land twice as much crab as last year, when they were allowed 52,823 pounds per boat.
He’s expecting higher prices, too.
“Everywhere else has been pretty well cut except for the Gulf Area 12,” he said, noting big cuts in quota in places like Alaska and Newfoundland.
“It puts a stronger demand on our crab,” he said.
Hutt is hearing prices of $4.39 a pound in Newfoundland and around $4.50 a pound in Cape Breton this year.
He said Island captains usually don’t hear a shore price until about two weeks into their season.
“Last year I was done (fishing) and I still didn’t know what I was getting,” he said.
Island boats generally receive prices in line with Cape Breton’s.
Last year Island boats averaged around $3.90 a pound for their catches.
There are 17 boats in the Island’s snow crab fleet and, with quota and prices both expected to rise, Hutt anticipates all eligible boats will be participating in the 2017 fishery, whenever it opens.
The opening date, Hutt said, is dependent upon ice conditions. He said expectations are that the fishery might open around April 25 or 27. He said fishermen in the Caraquet and Shippagan areas of northern New Brunswick were only able to start launching their boats last Saturday, after a Coast Guard hovercraft broke up the ice in their ports.
Except for some lingering ice at the eastern tip of the Island, Hutt said most Island ports are ice-free now.