Tuna season delayed in P.E.I.

A majority of P.E.I. bluefin tuna fishermen have voted in favour of delaying the opening of the fall fishing season by three days to avoid depressing the price of the fish.

The season, originally set to start on Monday, will be delayed until Oct. 8 at 7 a.m.

Walter Bruce, chair of the P.E.I. Fishermen's Association Tuna Advisory Committee, said there's currently an abundance of fish and fishermen are concerned about flooding the market with too much supply.

"The fish haven't left or haven't dispersed yet. They're still in heavy concentrations in some spots," Bruce said. "With the experience of Gulf [of] Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, where a lot of tuna were landed in short periods and depressed prices, it was decided to wait."

He said the committee hopes the delay will allow the large schools of tuna to disperse.

Members of the Western Gulf Fishermen's Association, one of six regional groups within the P.E.I. Fishermen's Association, were the only ones opposed to postponing the season, said Bruce.

The province's commercial tuna quota is the largest in the Maritimes, with 286 licensed fishermen taking 138 metric tonnes each year.