Concerns raised on P.E.I. about risk foreign bait might pose to ecosystem
CBC
People in P.E.I.'s fishing industry are raising concerns about fish being imported to be used as bait or in the production of some types of alternative bait.
In March, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans put a moratorium on commercial fishing for herring in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and mackerel across the East Coast, saying urgent action is required to allow those fish stocks to recover.
That moratorium led to fears of a shortage of bait for use in the lucrative Maritime lobster fishery.
Mark Prevost, the co-owner of the Bait Masters alternative bait company in Nine Mile Creek, P.E.I., appeared before a federal fisheries committee earlier this week.
He is calling on the federal government to regulate the kinds of fish being used for bait.
"My concern now is that there's a lot more alternative bait companies, and other larger companies trying to make alternative baits, and that the ingredients could be dangerous," Prevost said.
"The process needs to be changed in Canada, so it's somewhat regulated for alternative bait companies, so that we don't end up with an Asian carp problem, or an invasive species."
He also fears additives could reduce the health or size of fish populations.
Bait Masters produces what it calls bait sausages made up of 75 per cent fish byproduct and 25 per cent whole mackerel, for use in the lobster and crab fisheries.
Prevost says the Canadian government should adopt rules like the ones used in Maine, which is his company's biggest market.
"The Maine Department of Marine Resources, they have a process before any bait gets put in the water to make sure that it's not going to affect anything," Prevost said. "Risk assessments need to be done, and studies need to be done. And then on top of that, you need to see if it actually catches fish — a business viability study — and that costs money. It cost us $50,000 to do a field test, a proper field test."
Prevost said companies should also have to show the chain of custody at all stages in the production process, to prove it can guarantee the purity of the ingredients and thus the final product.
Concerns about foreign bait were also raised by the P.E.I. Fishermen's Association (PEIFA) on Thursday during a presentation to the legislative standing committee on natural resources in Charlottetown.
Executive director Molly Aylward called for foreign bait to be regulated to protect the Gulf of St. Lawrence ecosystem, as one of eight recommendations the PEIFA made to the committee.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.
A memorial to remember lives lost to gender-based violence was held in Charlottetown Friday, ahead of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, which is marked annually on Dec. 6.
A Calgary dentist who defrauded five insurance companies over a decade should spend up to three years in prison, the prosecution argued Friday.
B.C. Conservation Officer Service says it has called off its search for a bear responsible for an attack on a group of school children in Bella Coola, B.C. on Nov. 20.
The union president called it a rally for solidarity as Iqaluit Housing Authority employees gathered Friday while negotiations are ongoing between the Nunavut Employees Union and the employer.
The federal government is stoking Quebec separatism by walking back its climate commitments — including in its recent deal with Alberta — Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says.
Four more Alberta MLAs are facing recall petitions organized by their constituents, including the first NDP representative to be caught in the province's ongoing wave of recall efforts.
Frank Gehry, the Canadian-born renegade architect behind some of the world's most recognizable buildings, has died at 96.
Hundreds of P.E.I. parents can't find child-care spaces, especially for infants. The provincial government says expanding those spots remains a top priority — and it recognizes the concern.
An Alberta judge says a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada goes against Charter and and Treaty rights, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.
The architect of Alberta's politician recall legislation says it was never meant to be used as a political weapon, but as an "ultimate tool of accountability" if a politician engages in illegal or unethical behaviour.