Federal government announces plans for harbour dredging

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A week after fishermen from the Miramichi region and northern Kent County staged a protest calling for their wharf channels to be dredged, the federal government has announced plans to do exactly that.

Acadie-Bathurst MP Serge Cormier announced plans Monday for the small craft harbours at Pointe-Sapin and McEachern’s Point in Tabusintac to be dredged to clear sediment and improve boat passage in and out of the area.

“This is critical infrastructure to local economies and we need to repair, maintain or build new infrastructure to make it more efficient,” Cormier said in a news release. “By dredging the wharves at McEachern’s Point and Pointe-Sapin, we are ensuring the safety of fish harvesters and their crew members.”

Monday’s announcement follows concerns expressed by the Maritime Fishermen’s Union about the harbours needing to be dredged before lobster season opens April 30. MFU executive director Martin Mallet said sediment buildup over the winter reduces the depth of the harbours to a few inches at low tide and creates safety hazards for fishing vessels.

Mallet said Tabusintac and Pointe-Sapin’s wharves are only accessible by narrow passages with sandy bottoms, which are shallow and treacherous for lobster boats.

“Every year, the sand needs to be taken out and pushed aside to open up a channel for the boats. It’s the cost of doing business,” he said.

A survey boat was expected to visit the wharves last week to prepare upgraded maps of the navigation channels with the water depth.

The MFU says the Tabusintac and Pointe-Sapin wharves represent a combined total of 105 fishermen from local communities, as well as Esgenoôpetitj First Nation and Natoaganeg First Nation, with 60 represented by the MFU. Their average annual lobster catches are valued at a combined $12 million, according to the release from the feds.

Mallet said the fishery is important to the First Nations community, and there is a dredging machine at the Pointe-Sapin wharf. During a dredging operation, the machines scrape sand and rocks from the bottom to create a safe navigational channel for boats.

Cormier didn’t say how much the dredging work will cost, but he said more wharves in the region will likely be repaired “in the near future.” This year’s federal budget includes $463.3 million for small craft harbour maintenance and repairs.

Cormier said contracts are being awarded and dredging will take place “as soon as possible.”

– With files from Alan Cochrane