A boundary dispute between Prince Edward Island fishermen and fishermen from the Magdalen Islands of Quebec remains unresolved. The dispute is over a lobster fishery.
The two sides met for the first time in mid-February. Hosted by the Magdalen group, the meeting did produce agreement on at least one point: that both groups of fishermen have suffered from federal regulations.
“Everybody feels that the ball is back in the federal court,” said Rory McLellan, general manager of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association right after the meeting. “Now we’re looking for the federal government to take care of all of its citizens.”
He added that the meeting was amicable. “The Quebec guys were very hospitable.”
Leonard Poirier, director of the Association des Pecheurs Proprietaire des Iles-de-la-Madeleine, described the meeting as “a positive, constructive meeting.” He added that the “Maggies,” as he calls the Magdalen Island fishermen, heard for the first time the history of Prince Edward Island fishermen in the disputed area.
“We now understand their problem much better,” Poirier said. “After all, this is a small, but lucrative part of the whole area.”
He, too, is looking for the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans to come through with a response. DFO representatives were at the meeting, Poirier said, but only “to take information, not to comment. We expect they will now make their report to the Minister [Robert Thibault]. Hopefully, we will evaluate – ourselves, P.E.I. and DFO – the possibility of another meeting.”
A spokesperson for DFO Minister Robert Thibault said of the meeting, “We certainly feel the meeting was productive. Fishermen discussed some possible options for a solution. They have now agreed to consider the results of those discussions, review the proposals put forward at the meeting, and make their positions on these proposals known to us in very short order.”
She continued, “We look forward to receiving their views on the possible solutions which could be applied both in the short term and in the long term to this situation. A final decision will be made shortly.”
The dispute centers on an area known as “The Ledge.” It’s approximately five miles from the P.E.I. shoreline and roughly 80 miles from the Magdalen Islands. As far as the P.E.I. fishermen are concerned, the question is: Is fishing in an area based on decades of history and tradition as valid as fishing in an area determined by a line on a map?
The issue came to a head last June when 60 P.E.I. fishermen were evicted from the zone by federal officers. Ultimately, 28 were allowed back in, but Campbell insists that all 60 should have been.
“Nobody paid any attention at the time because we all knew where the fishery was” McLellan said. “But there’s another line that’s really important – a north-south line. You can fish in the north in the spring and in the south in the fall. The fall guys tend to set their traps pretty close to the line because they know there are lots of lobsters there. Well, one guy drifted over the line and the spring fishermen got upset because they felt this would hurt their spring fishery. So they complained to Fisheries and Oceans. The other guy said well if you’re going to enforce that line then why don’t you enforce the Quebec line too. It was a real bonehead decision.”
“We have a history of fishing in the area for more than 200 years, Campbell says, “When our guys were forced out, they had to move their gear into an area that was already heavily exploited. Obviously that’s not in the best interests of conservation.”