P.E.I. lobster fishery: use less mackerel as bait, or risk eco-friendly stamp

P.E.I. lobster fishermen will have to prove they're using less mackerel for bait if they're going to keep their eco-friendly certification.

• P.E.I. lobster receives eco-certification

The Island lobster fishery achievedMarine Stewardship Council certification in November 2014. Yearly audits are done to make sure the fishery continues to be ecologically sustainable, while the councilencourages consumers to purchase sustainably-caught fish with special branding a little blue logo incorporating a check mark and a fish.

To keep thatcertification, MSC auditors haveasked the fishery to meetfive conditionstwo of which involve reducing the use of mackerel forbait.

That will be a challenge given how popular mackerel is, said the P.E.I. Fishermen's Association,while notingprotecting these fishis also important.

Mackerel popular baiton P.E.I.

"It's certainly one of the main baits here on P.E.I.," saidthe association's executive directorIan MacPherson. He isn't sure what percentage of Island fishermen prefer mackerel overherring, the other commonbait.

"Definitely those are the preferred baits for most of the fishers on P.E.I. and so obviously they want to continue to use those baits. They have good success, and so we want to work to make those stocks healthy."

The MSCrequirementto reduce the use of mackerel wasadded last year, after the most recent mackerel stock assessment by Fisheries and Oceans Canada raised some concerns.In 2015, Canada saw the lowest mackerellandingsin years fishermen caught less thanhalf of the quota.

MSC has set the same condition to reduce mackerel useforlobster fisheries in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, so fishingassociations in allthree provinces have formed a working group to tackle the issue.

This year, the amount of mackerel bait being used in the regionis being tracked thatinformation will help the associations set a reduction target with MSC officials.

'Lobster is a discerning consumer'

Work will also have to be done to come up withalternatives,MacPhersonsaid.

"Lobster is a discerning consumer and won't just eat anything, so it will be a matter of some experimentation."

Homarus Inc., acompanyassociatedwiththe Maritime Fishermen's Union in New Brunswick, is working on a baitalternativebut a company official told CBC Newsthey aren't willing to make the details public untilfall at the earliest.

Fishermen in P.E.I. will have to show improvements in themackerel target by2018 one year before recertificationor the fisheryrisks losing itsMSC stamp of approval, something the PEIFA doesn't want to see happen.

"It's very important for us here in P.E.I. We have a lot of markets in Europe, and although we're just starting to see it more and more here in North America, it's huge over in Europe," said MacPherson. He said moregrocerychains now requireeco-certificationfor a product to be carried.

"It's a big marketing tool for sure."

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