Harvesters call for permanent solution to Malpeque Harbour safety concerns

Fishing crews based in Malpeque on P.E.I.'s North Shore returned to the water on Tuesday amid renewed calls to make the harbour safer.

On Monday, a mussel boat sank in the harbour and five crew members took refuge on the roof of the vessel before they were rescued.

Lobster harvester Kyle Nickerson said the episode, and the still stranded boat, reminded everyone of how risky their job can be.

"You're sailing out there and see the boat right next to the buoys where you gotta sail by the sand bar… It's definitely a massive safety concern that's gotta be dealt with."

People who fish these waters have been raising concerns for years that 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.

Boats regularly hit bottom after high winds and rough waters move sand around from where it was just a day or two earlier, they say. 

The crew members who ran into trouble on Monday were brought to shore by New London firefighters using the department's new rescue Zodiac. 

Alan Doucette, that rescue boat's captain, said something needs to be done to address safety once and for all.

"Rescue boats are not a permanent solution. Yesterday, even with this boat, and as well trained as we are, it was a difficult rescue because of the conditions," he said. "You're dealing with current, you're dealing with changing bottoms, changing sands — and it seems to be changing on a daily basis."

The federal government pays to dredge the channel a couple of times a year, although fishing crew members say it's quick to fill back in. On Tuesday, Fisheries and Oceans Canada told CBC News it is assessing options for Malpeque Harbour. 

Malpeque MP Heath MacDonald said the solution should involve all three levels of government and "ensure that we at least try to do something to make things safer for these fishers and their families."

In the past decade, various studies have been done looking at other long-term solutions, including relocating the harbour for shell fishers to the end of Keir Shore Road, not far from Malpeque Harbour. 

MacDonald said he has asked the P.E.I. government to submit environmental permits to get the process started.

In an email to CBC News on Tuesday, the provincial Department of Fisheries, Tourism, Sport and Culture said it's waiting on a funding commitment from the federal government.