LITTLE HARBOUR – The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is set to begin negotiations with a local fishermen’s group to take over ownership of the Sinclairs Island wharf.
Fisheries representatives held a public meeting Tuesday in Little Harbour as part of its plans to divest the Sinclairs Island wharf to the Sinclairs Island Fishermen’s Association.
Sam Anderson, a member of the fishermen’s society, said there is a lot of interest by the 14 fishermen currently using the wharf to keep it operational, but the society wants some extensive repair work done to the facility before taking control.
“Our concerns are about the existing wharf,” he said. “We want dredging done, the outside wall and the top part of the wharf fixed.”
Fisheries and Ocean representatives said as part of the divesture it would be willing to extend the area’s rock wall, repair the wharf and re-dredge the basin, but the association says it is still not doing enough.
The crowd of about 50 people, which included area fishermen, cottagers and permanent residents, expressed concerns that more work is needed on the wharf than DFO was willing to do and questioned where the funding would come from to improve the area in the future.
Sherri Gaudet of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said once the fishermen’s association takes it over, they can submit a business plan to Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency for funding as well as access grants from the municipality and province.
However, she said, DFO will not be putting any more money towards thewharf once its ownership changes hands.
She said some of the divestures of other wharfs in the Maritimes have gone well while others have not been as successful.
Since 1995, 144 wharfs have been taken off the scheduled list of harbours by DFO and 44 per cent of them have been divested to local non-profit groups. Gaudet said 21 per cent of them have been removed and 13 per cent of these wharfs have been taken over by municipalities. The province has taken control of 10 per cent of them and 12 per cent have gone to private individuals.
Warden Ron Baillie said the municipality has discussed the situation, but he gets the feeling his council is not interested in being in the “wharf business.”
“It’s a bad precedent to set considering all of the other different wharfs in the county,” he said.
At present, DFO says, the current operating costs of the Sinclairs Island wharf are about $10,000 a year. About $1,300 of this goes to electrical, $2,200 for waste management and $2,000 for removing the floating docks. Property taxes will be added on top of this while the fishermen’s association will have to pay liability insurance: about $2,500 a year to allow the public to use it.
Anderson said if the Sinclairs Island wharf is removed, fishermen in the area will have to dock their boats in Pictou Landing which is already near capacity. It will also add about an hour’s sail to their day when they are fishing, thus increasing fuel costs.
While the fishermen association has its concerns about taking over an aging facility, local cottagers and residents are also worrying about what kind of access they will have to it once it changes hands.
DFO stipulates as part of its divesture agreement that the wharf remain public for at least five years, but many residents in attendance said they would like a longer period.
Jim Hiscott of the Chance Harbour Beach Protection Society said he found the meeting “dissatisfying” because he feels DFO is washing its hands of the wharf once the divesture takes place.
“It’s a dogmatic approach by small craft harbours,” he said. “There is no bending of the rules here whatsoever.”
However, he said there is a lot of “good will” between the fishermen and residents and he hopes this relationship can be fostered in the future.
He said some of his committee members are interested in joining the fishermen’s association so that they will have a say when decisions are being made once it changes hands.
“There is no guarantee it will remain a public entity,” he said.
