PEIPrince Edward Island’s fisheries minister says his department is putting the final touches on a pitch to Ottawa to lift up the province’s oyster industry, and that the proposal should be in front of the federal government “by the end of this week.”‘I’m trying to raise the alarm bells here,’ Opposition MLA saysCody MacKay · CBC News · Posted: Nov 06, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesP.E.I.’s oyster industry was rocked by the deadly parasite MSX, which was first found in Island waters in July 2024. Another disease called dermo was discovered this past summer. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)Prince Edward Island’s fisheries minister says his department is putting the final touches on a pitch to Ottawa to lift up the province’s oyster industry, and that the proposal should be in front of the federal government “by the end of this week.”Zack Bell said the department has put together a package of programs to help wild oyster fishers, growers, processors and more.P.E.I.’s oyster industry was rocked by the deadly parasite MSX, which was first found in Island waters in July 2024. Another disease called dermo was discovered this past summer. Neither poses a risk for human consumption, but both can be fatal to oysters.”A lot has gone into this. It’s a very fluid situation, you know, again my heart goes out to everyone affected in the industry, whether it’s the fishers, the growers, the processors,” Bell said.”They’ve been dealing with some tougher times, most recently in the last couple of weeks.”WATCH | Oyster industry sounds the alarm on P.E.I.’s ‘dire’ MSX situation:Oyster industry sounds the alarm on P.E.I.’s ‘dire’ MSX situationPeople in the oyster industry from across Prince Edward Island packed into a legislative standing committee meeting to speak about the situation they’re facing due to the discovery of the MSX parasite. As CBC’s Cody MacKay reports, some of them say their livelihoods have been turned upside down.People who work in the oyster industry have spoken out for months about how MSX and dermo have rattled their livelihood. Some say they’re facing financial ruin. Action, in the form of financial supports, is something they’ve asked for repeatedly. The province did set up a $2.72-million Aquaculture Contingency Fund. The province described that initial investment in an emailed statement as “critical steps to understand and contain the issue while laying the groundwork for recovery.” The funding was targeted toward toward research, testing and surveillance.Ottawa had also announced roughly $1 million in funding for three projects to strengthen the Atlantic shellfish fishery. That included $613,964 to help UPEI establish a rapid-response testing system for the industry, and another $61,200 to develop a strategy toward creating a research cluster for shellfish health.Fisheries Minister Zack Bell says he hopes to get approval from Ottawa for oyster industry supports. (Rick Gibbs/CBC)Bell didn’t disclose a specific dollar amount for the amount he’d like to see come from Ottawa, saying it’s been a moving target.”The main reason is it’s a continual day-by-day process to figure out what that number is,” he said.”It’s been a little bit tough because, again, people are being affected in different thresholds, so the biggest part is trying to figure out that program if it is going to be beneficial to fisher X or fisher Y, or grower X or grower Y.”Bell said he’d like to see those supports get approved from Ottawa and be in place “as soon as possible.”‘It’s getting extremely frustrating’The Official Opposition says “the industry needs hope,” and it’s taken too long to get money in the hands of fishers, growers and processors.”It is getting extremely frustrating, and I think I’m getting frustrated as the MLA who represents a large number of these growers,” Liberal MLA Robert Henderson said.”The department or the minister needs to really pick up their game and expedite some solutions here and at least provide some hope to this industry.” Liberal MLA Robert Henderson says it’s taken too long to get supports in the hands of oyster growers, fishers and processors. (Rick Gibbs/CBC)Henderson pressed the governing Progressive Conservatives during question period Tuesday, saying it should have issued a special warrant to get money out the door to help the industry immediately. He said $10 million is in the ballpark for a figure that would at least help the oyster industry get back on its feet.”Freeze-up is not that far away,” Henderson said.”Time is starting to be of the essence. I’m trying to raise the alarm bells here to the minister to get some policies in place and deal with this particular issue.”ABOUT THE AUTHORCody MacKay is a writer, editor and producer for CBC News on Prince Edward Island. From Summerside, he’s a UPEI history and Carleton masters of journalism grad who joined CBC P.E.I. in 2017. You can reach him at cody.mackay@cbc.ca
Province says it’s pitching support program for P.E.I.’s oyster industry to Ottawa ‘this week’
