‘It’s a good feeling,’ says North Rustico fisherman as work on new breakwater begins | CBC News
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Work on a new breakwater structure for a harbour on Prince Edward Island’s North Shore is now underway, and fishermen in the area are glad to see it.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada said the existing breakwater in North Rustico is at the end of it’s useable life, so a new one is needed to properly protect the harbour against tides, currents and storm surges.
The agency said in a statement that the breakwater will be “built to be resilient to the impacts of a changing climate.”
Post-tropical storm Fiona in 2022 did a number on the structure, said lobster boat captain Reid Peters, so parts of it are in rough shape.
“One of our biggest issues last year was the fact that the end of it was kind of split open so the rocks … flushed out into our channel,” Peters said.
“On low tide, there were some people hitting those, and it doesn’t do too much good to a boat.”
Peters said it’ll be nice to not have to worry about the breakwater anymore once the work is complete.
“It gives you some shelter from the waves, depending on what direction they’re coming from,” he said.
“It also protects a bit of our channel … from some sand from flushing in, so yeah it’s quite important.”
‘Good to see some construction going on’
Peters said the new breakwater is a step in the right direction, especially with some of the issues the harbour has battled in the past.
During last year’s spring lobster fishery, more than a dozen boats were stranded outside of the harbour for hours one day due to low tides. Fishermen said high winds and a shallow channel made it difficult to get in safely.
Peters managed to avoid getting stuck that day, but the propeller on his boat was damaged.
Fishermen have also told CBC News in the past that the conditions of the harbour have become increasingly worse, and it needs more dredging. Storms can move sand into the channel, while less sea ice over the winter months can also cause more silt to build up.
As for Peters, he says the harbour could probably use a dredge before the coming season.
But even so, he said, it’s a good feeling seeing work being done on the breakwater.
“Especially being a young guy that’s getting into it and planning to make a life out of it type of thing, it’s just encouraging to see that we’re actually getting some help,” he said.
“There’s a lot of other harbours on the Island as well that definitely need help, but it’s good to see some construction going on.”
Peters said he’s also hearing from other fishermen that there is a lot more ice this year than in previous years, so that’s also good news for harbour depth.
DFO’s statement notes that material continues to be delivered to the site in North Rustico, and installation of steel sheet piling is now underway.
The project was awarded for $8.8 million last summer and is expected to be completed by August 2027.