Early setting day at Beach Point finds crews optimistic for season
CBC
Lobster fishermen along Prince Edward Island's southern coast were up early Wednesday to get their traps in the water for the first day of the spring season — and everyone agrees the weather couldn't have been more obliging.
"Beautiful morning. Couldn't ask for a better morning than this: flat calm, sun is up, no fog," said Tupper Harris, who fishes out of Beach Point Wharf, as he was quickly piling a second load of traps on his boat just before 6:30 a.m.
"It's nice to get your stake in the bottom," he added. "The gear is pretty packed, so it's nice to get the first load down and you can pick and choose and find your little spots fo the next couple of loads."
Harris was neutral about the season starting earlier than usual for Lobster Fishing Area 26A, saying: "I'd be fine with the traditional start, but it is what it is."
Some fishermen went into the day worried that post-tropical storm Fiona might have created shallow areas as sand got shifted around, but not Harris.
"Typically in the wintertime, the bottom moves around anyway. You get your winter storms and stuff like that. So, I don't think it is going to affect our lobsters," he said.
Of the boats fishing out of Beach Point, Harris said: "We are lucky to have a wharf. And there wasn't much damage sustained down here other than trees."
Catherine Beaton also fishes off the South Shore, and on setting day was hoping to land her first haul of lobster for the year on Thursday morning.
"We're hearing a good price, but I guess we will know when we get our first catch," she said.
Jeff Gaudet is the captain of Gaudet Enough. He did two runs to set traps on Wednesday morning and is also optimistic about the price that buyers and processors will offer crews for their first catch.
"I think it is going to be good," he said.
Mindy O'Donnell bought her lobster licence last year. She said she was both excited and nervous to be beginning her second year as a fishing captain.
"Hoping there are lobsters," she said.
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