Funding secured to move Malpeque aquaculture landings to Keir Shore, says P.E.I. MP

After nearly two decades of boats scraping sand bars at the bottom of Malpeque Bay, some people who fish out of that area may finally be gettinga saferoption.

Malpeque MP Heath MacDonald saidThursday that funding has been secured to build a landing pad and wharf for the harbour's mussel boats to nearby Keir Shore.

"This has been an ongoing issue for the past, I believe, around 19 years. The aquaculture sector, the harvesters were asking for help in moving," MacDonald said in an interview with CBCNews.

The current Malpeque wharf is used by mussel and lobster fishing boats, but tides fill the bay with silt and sand that can cause boats to bedamaged, or worse.

"There's been multiple swampings, sinkings over the last number of years and it's only a matter of time until somebody doesn't escape," said Chris Wall, who's been fishing lobster out ofMalpeque for 30 years."I mean, you can only try to beat Mother Nature so many times, but eventually she's going to catch up to you."

Of the funding to put an aquaculture wharf at Keir Shore, he said: "This will definitely make it safer and more efficient for the mussel crews."

At the moment, Wall said harvesters have to venture out only when the tides are high enough, and often won't bring in their full catch because they fear their boats will be too heavy.

While there may be some growing pains for aquaculture harvesters adapting to a new wharf closer to the open ocean, Wall saidit will bebetter than the current situation.

"At the end of the day, if you can't use your wharf or your harbour, then you have to look at doing something different," he said.

The government has frequently dredged the harbour, sometimes up to three times a year. But just as quickly as it can be dredged, the sand and silt flowback in.

"What we're doing now is just typically a Band-Aid solution," Wall said. "We've been spending a million dollars plus in dredging, and in some cases it hasn't lasted two weeks."

Feds hopeto cost-share with province

MacDonald saidthe federal government is prepared to commit $3.25 million toward moving the aquaculture operations to Keir Shore, and he's sent a letter to the P.E.I. government asking it tocontribute an equal amount.

"It's been a long time coming for these harvesters and these companies, but I think we're going to see the end of it and hopefully have some satisfaction over the immediate term," MacDonald said.

An email from the provincial Department of Fisheries confirmed a letter was sent from the federal government, and that staff look forward to federal representatives reaching out to discuss the details.

"In the interim, Fisheries, Tourism, Sport and Culture have actively been meeting with our marine infrastructure consultants and industry stakeholders to finalize next steps to move the project forward," said a statement from the department.

MacDonaldsaid he wants to see things move quickly.

But the planisn't set in stone. The provincialand federal governments have to negotiate the move, and additional funding could also come from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agencyor the aquaculture industry itself.

And as for calls to move all Marpeque Harbour operations to a new site, including lobster landings, MacDonald said that's going to cost at least $40 million. Astudy on that project is due to be completed next year.

Whatever the case, Wall agrees that many fishers want to see the change happen as soon as possible.

"The time for action is now. There's been multiple studies and there's been multiple close calls so why not do it now?" he said.