With one Campobello wharf newly condemned, residents fear others may be next

On a frigid winter weekday, Head Harbour on Campobello Island quietly awaits the return of its fishing fleet.

Many of the boats that call the harbour home are out on the water, dragging for scallops. Their return will be marked by a brief burst of activity as crews jostle to tie up, offload, weigh and sell their hard-won catch to processors waiting nearby.

It’s a hard living this time of year. But it’s also an industry that brings in more money, and employs more people, than any other activity on the Bay of Fundy island.

Nearly 100 fishers on the island make their living trapping lobster, fishing for halibut or dragging for scallops and sea urchins. Another 60 or so work  at local fish plants, lobster tank houses and lobster-buying scows on the water. 

All of it dependent on the island’s all-important wharfs being kept in good repair by federal authorities. 

That’s why a recent inspection of the island’s three federal fishing wharfs has a lot of islanders on edge.  

Wilsons Beach Wharf was closed after the underwater pilings that support the wharf were found to be beyond repair, according to Amanda Matthews of the Campobello Island Harbour Authority.

Meanwhile, the last 10 to 12 metres of the wharf at Malloch Beach will be fenced off, Matthews said.

And while the island’s busiest wharfs at Head Harbour are in better condition, issues were raised there too.

“There are some pilings under the wharf in various positions that are anywhere from 10 per cent to 100 per cent eaten through,” she said. “It's what holds up the wharf.”

Without federal money to maintain these wharfs, Matthews said she fears Malloch Beach could close completely, putting even more pressure on Head Harbour, which is already at capacity, and difficult to access during bad weather.

Ottawa needs to prioritize these repairs, she said, because options are limited on the island.

“We can't go tie up on the mainland, we can't go tie up on Grand Manan, and we can't go tie up on Deer Island," Matthews said. "The wharfs on Campobello need to be kept up because there's nowhere else.”

The island's fishing wharfs generally go years without inspections.