P.E.I. oyster business already feeling effects of Bedeque Bay closure

The owner of Future Seafoods in Fernwood, P.E.I., is worried he'll have to shut down his plant and lay off employees if he can no longer ship oysters from Bedeque Bay.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, or DFO, closed the bay to shellfish harvesting because of a large rainfall in June, and the area has remained closed since the discovery of the parasite MSXin wild oysters from the Bedeque area.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says MSX is not harmful to humans, and the oysters are safe to eat.

But Erskine Lewis of Future Seafoods still can't ship oysters to his wholesalers in Montreal, Ottawa and Boston.

"We're still closed down here and we really don't understand why. Our food inspection agency cleared this area to be able to ship out of, and DFO has not released it to be shipped out of, so I don't have a reason why they haven't."

Clock ticking as P.E.I. industry waits to see how much damage oyster parasite will cause

3 months ago

Duration 3:07

A Bedeque Bay fishing area remains closed after the MSX parasite was found in oysters there. CBCs Wayne Thibodeau spoke to Erskine Lewis of Future Seafoods Inc.; Fisheries Minister Cory Deagle; and Kim Gill, acting director of aquaculture with the Department of Fisheries, Tourism, Sports and Culture about the crisis and how the province is helping to test for the disease.

In a statement to CBC News, the CFIA said oysters from BedequeBay can'tbe shipped because of a prohibition order in place under the Management of Contaminated Fisheries Regulations.

That order will remainuntil there are measures in place to contain and control the risk of MSX spreading, the federal agency said.

"The CFIA is working in collaboration with DFO and the Province of P.E.I to put a Primary Control Zone in place for the Bedeque Bay area, which will provide the necessary controls and permitting for movement of products outside of the area to enable the industry to function, while still protecting oyster populations outside of the affected area," the statement said.

In addition to setting up the control zone, CFIA said its main goal is to completetesting to gauge how far MSX may have spread.

Crates of dead oysters

Lewis believes the parasite has spread, based on the crates of dead oysters he has in his plant that came from other harvesting areas around the Island.

"I'm fearful of MSX in another location, but we aren't sure," he said, noting that oysters can die from other, less serious causes.

This is the first time MSX has been detected in P.E.I. waters, and there's a lot that is unknown about it. The parasite wiped out entire oyster stocks in parts of the United States in the 1950s but had never been spotted north of Maine until it was detected in Cape Breton in 2002. It has negatively affected that part of the Nova Scotia fishery for 20 years.

Kim Gill, acting director of aquaculture for P.E.I., said the prospect of MSX arriving on the Island hasbeen a concern ever since it was detected in Cape Breton.

"We've been aware of it, and very worried about it since 2002...Was it an environmental change, was it something in the oysters that triggered it? We really have no idea when it comes to why it actually showed up right now."

Government prepared to help

P.E.I. Fisheries Minister Cory Deagle said the province is prepared to provide financial help if needed.

"I just want everyone to know that we will be there to support the fishers and the growers and the processors. There is probably a short term and a long term of what this is going to look like. We're still assessing."

More test results from the CFIA are expected later this week.

The uncertainty has Lewis worried for the future of the industry and his livelihood. He said he's getting too old to switch careers.

"At my age, if it takes as long as what they say to rebuild from this, if it is MSX and it kills off this industry, I won't be in it when it recovers."