Prawn fishermen are anticipating a May 14 opening but the date remains uncertain.
That leaves fishermen waiting and trying to plan when to get boats ready,invest in supplies, and hire crews.
Discussions with Fisheries and Oceans Canada are continuing on a date, Mike Atkins, executive director of the Pacific Prawn Fishermen’s Association, said Monday.
There is discussion about moving the opening to May 26, partly because COVID-19 restrictions will limit the market for prawns, Atkins said.
Indoor dining at restaurants is banned until May 25 although patio dining and takeout are permitted. “There are concerns about starting the fishery and having no fresh market and no domestic market,” he said.
“There’s a lot of things that go into the opening date. Every fisherman’s got different reasons and there’s different concerns so that’s up to DFO to sort that one out.”
Association members are not unanimous on a date and the organization is not taking a stance, Atkins said.
The fleet consists of about 250 fishermen who catch and sell fresh prawns for the domestic market and those who use freezer boats to flash-freeze their products. Prawns are frozen in tubs of salt water.
The uncertainly follows an earlier federal Fisheries Department announcement — now deferred for a year — that would make flash-frozen tubs of prawns illegal. That move led to an irate response from fishermen, who have been using that practice for years.
A federal fisheries spokesperson was not available Monday.
Instead of imposing the ban this year, Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan said 2021 will be one of education and information.
The move to eliminate tubs follows Fisheries and Oceans’ interpretation of a regulation that all catches must be readily available for inspection. The federal department maintains prawns frozen in ice do not meet that requirement.
Fisherman Guy Johnston of Cowichan Bay wants a firm opening date.
“At a certain point you have to decide on a date and stick with it,” he said. “It’s very difficult for someone to plan.”
Johnston’s crew members have booked time off from their regular jobs to go after prawns, expecting a May 14 opening.
If the opening is later in the month, those crew members will be out two weeks of wages, he said.
Johnston, of the Michelle Rose Community Supported Fishery, takes his freezer boat out every spring for a couple of months to catch prawns prior to the salmon fisheries opening.
Cailyn Siider, who goes out in her partner’s freezer boat after prawns, would also like a firm date for the opening because preparing is a “really big planning process.” She too does not have a preference but, “I would just like to know how to plan my next few weeks.”
cjwilson@timescolonist.com
