N.B. beekeepers compensation dwarfed by losses: industry

The head of the New Brunswick Beekeepers Association says a provincial compensation package of $100,000 doesn't come close to replacing the industry's losses over the winter.

As in other Maritime provinces, Quebec, Ontario andnortheastern U.S. states, New Brunswick's hives have recently beendecimated for reasons that aren't yet clear although many have blamedparasites such asvarroa mites, others disease or even climate change. The New Brunswick beekeepers also suffered lossesdue to acold snap.

On May 18, Agriculture and Aquaculture Minister Ronald Ouellette announced $100,000 in compensation for the association's 200 beekeepers.

But Paul Vautour, the head of the beekeepers association, said the industry's losses are close to $1 million.

"To buy a package of bees now is about $200 a package, that's just to buy the bees to put them in the box, so at $200 dollars a package, you can say I lost about $34,000 myself and I'm just a small commercial beekeeper," Vautour said.

"There are much larger ones than me, some with 800 hives, some with 1,500 hives, so their losses are much bigger than mine."

Vautour said the money will help producers buy some bees for this year, but he added that, with so many beekeepers affected, finding enough bees for all of them may be difficult.

"We don't even know where we can get bees right now because all of North America seems to be suffering, so we're going to have to find a source of bees to fill these hives," Vautour said.

They might not find much help in nearby provinces. For example, P.E.I. beekeeper John Berhoe said honey producers in his province weren't hit as hard as New Brunswick was, but they are still strapped.

"Because there's such a huge demand for bees for pollination of blueberries, the island really wouldn't have any spare colonies available to sell to New Brunswick," Berhoe said. "And even as it is, we will likely be running a thousand colonies short."

Meanwhile, Vautour said beekeepers are hoping to get some answers about how they can protect their colonies this summerduring a summit of Maritime beekeepers.

They're bringing in an American expert who's been studying the parasite that many believe is responsible.