Pointe-du-Chêne is a hotspot for fishing this time of year, with lines dipping off the pier and commercial boats hauling lobster from the Northumberland Strait.
Peter Wallace has been fishing these waters for nearly 50 years, carrying on a family legacy that dates back to 1917, when his grandfather purchased a lobster licence for 25 cents.
These days, that piece of paper would cost someone new to fishing about $1 million, Wallace said.
“If they have to buy a licence, it’s very very expensive,” he said, and a “half-decent” boat will cost another $700,000 to $1.2 million.
Peter Wallace says he plans to fish for a while yet, but after that his licence may go to a family member or be sold to a new captain. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
It’s a cost of entry that few can afford and banks won’t fully finance, say industry insiders.
Many worry that seafood buyers and processors are increasingly filling the gap, while getting the fisher to turn over rights and privileges of their licence in what is known as a controlling agreement.
WATCH | 3rd-party control leads some fishers to take greater risks, Maritime Fishermen’s Union says:
Fishers forced to give up control in exchange for financing, union says
Some seafood processors are helping finance the growing cost of a lobster licence. That’s prompting concerns that loan conditions are undermining the Atlantic inshore fishery. » Read More
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