P.E.I. government commits to new, safer mussel landing area at Keir Shore

With federal money on the table, the P.E.I. government is now committed to building a new, safer landing area for mussel fishers at Keir Shore, the provincial fisheries minister said Tuesday. 

The landing area would be for boats fishing out of Malpeque Harbour.

"This has been talked about for so long, it needs to get done," said Fisheries Minister Corey Deagle. "Whatever the province needs to do, we will do." 

The province has been working for the last year to get the necessary permits, he said. "Some of those we already have."

The project on P.E.I.'s North Shore will likely go to tender in late August or early September, with work beginning shortly after that, he said.  

"We need to get this work started in the fall, so that the mussel producers and processors have a safe place to land their product," said Deagle.

In May, a mussel boat sank in Malpeque Harbour and five crew members had to climb onto the roof of the vessel before being rescued.

People who fish those waters have for years said navigating the shallow channel in and out of the harbour can be dangerous, especially for boats weighed down by thousands of pounds of mussels and gear.

"We don't want to lose anyone, this just needs to move forward," said Deagle. 

The federal government is committed to spending $3.25 million on the facility at Keir Shore, Malpeque MP Heath MacDonald said last week. That landing area would only be for mussels, and fishers wouldn't keep their boats there. It would just be a spot to drop off their catch.

Deagle said the total cost estimate is between $7 million and $8 million. He said private industry will pay for some of it — though he didn't say how much — and the province will pick up the rest of the bill. 

David Davis, a mussel fisherman in Malpeque, said a landing area at Keir Shore "would definitely help," but it wouldn't solve the problem of boats bottoming out when trying to leave Malpeque Harbour — where they would still have to tie up overnight. 

Even when boats are empty the vessels hit bottom, he said. "The tide just moves the sand around and keeps filling in." 

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