Cape Breton fishermen say ice was a problem because DFO didn't follow its own policy

Some Cape Breton fishermen say if the Department of Fisheries and Oceans hadn't opened the Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab season too early, icebreakers would not have been needed to get boats in and out of Cheticamp harbour.

Andrew Bourgeois, president of the Gulf of Nova Scotia Fishermen's Coalition and a director of the Gulf fleet planning board, said DFO officials usually agree to wait until all the coasts are ice-free, but not this year.

"We only wanted one week extra [and] the ice could have been gone and it would have made it a lot easier for everyone, but New Brunswick and Quebec were strongly opposed to that and DFO chose with them," he said.

"We were ice-free two weeks prior to the opening, but we still didn't open till New Brunswick could go and then when it was good in New Brunswick, with all the drift ice from P.E.I. drifted along the coast, that's what kind of screwed up Gulf Nova Scotia."

Fishermen from the Maritime provinces and Quebec share the same crab grounds, so the season opening can't be staggered.

Each spring, their representatives consult with DFO on the season opening and vote on it.

Bourgeois said DFO's own policies say the season doesn't start until the coasts are clear.

"I think if DFO would have followed their protocol, I don't think there would have been an issue with the ice," he said. "The protocol says that if there was ice at 20 fathoms or deeper that it shouldn't open, it wouldn't open. And they opened it anyways."

Worse for N.S. boats

Bourgeois said when it became clear that ice on Cape Breton's western shores was going to be a problem, fishermen asked to have icebreakers near Cheticamp, which harbours most of the boats in that part of the Gulf.

"We wanted to make sure that the Coast Guard was going to stick around until the ice was all gone and they did and they were very useful, but I still think that if they would have waited four or five days, it would have been a lot easier for everyone," he said.

The ice became a problem last Wednesday and persisted through the weekend, especially because many of the boats out of Cape Breton are smaller and have a harder time dealing with it, Bourgeois said. 

Boats in nearby Margaree harbour were unable to get through at all and Bourgeois said he heard of one boat out of Port Hood that was stuck for five hours.

Gone by Tuesday

By Tuesday, the ice was gone thanks to warm temperatures and a southeast wind, but Bourgeois said that doesn't mean everyone was happy.

"I know some people were kind of complaining and DFO and the government officials, they were complaining that the cost of the Coast Guard was a bit more than they wanted, but I mean, they're the ones that decided to open it."

In an email, the fisheries minister's office said a majority of the committee voted in favour of the opening last week, according to the department's protocol.

"DFO considers the safety of harvesters in the opening of seasons," the minister's office said.

"Caution is exercised on the timing of the opening of the southern Gulf snow crab fishery until the risks posed by ice and weather are minimal and follows the DFO Opening Protocol."

Bourgeois said the ice meant some boats made fewer trips to the crab grounds and some product was delivered to fish plants in other harbours.

For many fishing captains already facing a difficult year financially, the icy opening was tough to take.

Bourgeois said fishermen have been reporting record catches, but with a glut of product from last year and a tightening economy in the U.S., they are also getting the lowest price in years.

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