P.E.I. fisheries minister exploring insurance options for aquaculture industry

The P.E.I. government says it will help the aquaculture industry on P.E.I. with insurance measures if it can get the federal government on board as a partner.

Fisheries Minister Cory Deagle made the announcement while answering questions from Liberal MLA Robert Henderson in the P.E.I. Legislature on Friday.

Henderson noted the federal and provincial governments support the agriculture industry on P.E.I. with crop insurance, and asked Deagle why that wasn't the case with the aquaculture, which produces 45 million pounds (24 million kilograms) of muscles and 10 million pounds (4.6 million kilograms) of oysters a year among other products.

Damages were estimated at about $70 million damaged from post-tropical storm Fiona in 2022.

Of the 89 damage claims oyster growers filed since the disaster, only 28 have been approved by the Canadian Red Cross which administered the post-FionaDisaster Financial Assistance Programon the province's behalf.

"What is preventing the minister of fisheries on P.E.I. from allowing oyster and mussels from accessing business risk management tools like crop insurance, like the agriculture industry does?" Henderson asked.

Willing to go thirds on deal

Deagle said the aquaculture industry is unable to secure private insurance at reasonable rates, and that the province is willing to go thirds on a deal with the federal government and the fishers. He said he's had talks with the federal agriculture minister and P.E.I. MP Lawrence MacAulay about mirroring the insurance plan in the agriculture sector.

"It's something that we're looking at because I do think if we're going to keep having events like [Fiona], they do need the insurance," Deagle said.

"The issue that we're having right now is any discussions we've had with DFO is they don't seem to want to talk about this right now. It is something we have to have a discussion on though. So the province is willing to be a part of it. I know that the industry is willing to be a part of it. We just need the federal government to come on side."