CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Island (AP) – A report on the state of the lobster fishery in the Northumberland Strait is recommending that 25 percent of all fishermen be bought out to help preserve stocks.

The report released Tuesday said it would cost $40 million to buy back the licenses of 125 of the roughly 600 fishermen currently involved in the fishery. But PEI Fisheries Minister Jim Bagnall said he’s doubtful the federal government would be prepared to invest in a buyout.

“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of response from the federal government to a buyback program,” Bagnall told reporters following the province’s release of the report.

“The (federal) minister said buyouts are not part of what he thinks should be happening,” Bagnall said.

Grant Thornton, an accounting firm, prepared the report for the provincial Fisheries Department. The Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association requested it in light of drastic drops in landings by lobster fishermen on the strait.

In Maine, America’s leading lobster-producing state, there’s no indication that the lobster population is declining.

Bob Bayer, executive director of the University of Maine’s Lobster Institute, said in March that he saw nothing to suggest instability in the lobster population, which he said is very well managed.

The Canadian province’s report recommends that 15 per cent of all fishermen be bought out by the federal government. The remaining 10 per cent would be bought out through a long-term repayable loan from the federal government.

The report says that even with a buyback program, there will be an unavoidable number of lobster-related business failures.

The report was based on interviews with only a handful of fishermen. About 625 fishermen were contacted. Only 60 fishermen responded and of those, only 30 provided detailed financial information.

The report’s authors state that because of the limited data, they have been unable to statistically determine more comprehensively the nature and extent of financial difficulties facing lobster fishermen.

But Ronald Caissie doesn’t need a report to show him the problems within the industry.

Caissie, president of the PEI Fishermens Association, said his catches have decreased by more than half.

“It’s really bad, especially in the central part of the province,” he said from his home in Maximeville. “It’s especially bad this year because there was no herring this spring. The last few years, that’s mostly what we we’re living on. In some parts of the province, guys are talking about lifting their gear and going out West.”

Caissie said fishermen have been calling for a buyback program for years.

The report also calls for the federal and provincial governments to sponsor low-interest loans and a long-term habitat restoration program.

It is also highly critical of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and how it manages the fishery.

Bagnall said he will forward a copy of the report to the federal government and the governments of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, both of which have fishermen on the Northumberland Strait.

AP-ES-06-07-06 1228EDT