Fisheries committee  I really don't have any answers. I know we have some of our older oyster warehouses that probably at the time seemed to be built quite a way from the water, but with bank erosion and higher water levels now, more of those than we like to admit are getting flooded out. I don't know if they need something additional like a breakwater around them or something to protect them.

Fisheries committee  We had no power. The power was out in Charlottetown there for the better part of a week, so the lab didn't really get opened until the following Monday after the storm. The CFIA didn't require any tests for some reason or other. Any other time, they would be testing everything right to the nines, but in this case, they didn't require tests.

Fisheries committee  I would think it would have. Really and truly, I'm on the side of safety. It kind of puts the whole shell fishery in jeopardy by.... They were letting product be shipped without being tested. I can't figure that out. I really can't figure out why that was done, but anyway.... Yeah, auxiliary power probably would have gotten that lab up and going.

Fisheries committee  Thank you. Yes, the unemployment rate went up this year. The fishermen actually needed more income to qualify. With lobsters, you can make a lot of money pretty quickly, but when you're dealing with clams, quahogs and oysters, it takes a full two seasons to get enough money. You're not making the money there.

Fisheries committee  On their part, I'd say that the emergency on the shore part would probably be to get some of the beds de-silted. Drag a harrow type of thing—not really a harrow—over the beds. It takes the silt and stuff off. With the erosion of the banks and stuff like that, it goes out in the water and covers the beds.

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Mr. Morrissey. As I said, the oyster fishermen suffered financial losses. For instance, we were only in our second full week of the fall season when it happened. The previous week, a lot of fishermen had a really good week, probably four or five thousand dollars. The next week, when you couldn't sell, you had nothing.

Fisheries committee  Yes, the only way to harvest wild oysters on P.E.I. is with tongs or hand rakes. It's the same with quahogs. You can only use your hands. For soft-shell clams, you can only use your hands. It's not a lot of equipment, other than your hands and body.

Fisheries committee  Loss of income was the big thing, yes.

Fisheries committee  We were pretty lucky in that. There were three mussel boats tied to it. The wharf went right under the water. I was scared that we were going to have some damage when the tide went down. The wharf itself stayed good, but we had water come into a couple of our buildings. There were two oysters buyers in particular in the area, whose buildings went under the water right to the doorknobs.

Fisheries committee  Hello, everybody. I would like to thank everybody for inviting us to this meeting and giving us a chance to speak. Unlike the Maritime Fishermen's Union, at the Shellfish Association we don't really have wharves or any gear to get lost in a storm, but we require a lot of access roads to get down to different rivers.