Lobster fishermen on P.E.I.'s Northumberland Strait are preparing to make one more pitch to the province for financial help this week.

Years of poor catches have led to financial problems for fishermen on the Strait and they're complaining this year that low prices are making problems worse.

An unforeseen expense could drag Colin and Dawn Runighan under.
(CBC)

Colin Runighan grew up in a fishing boat, but his parents insisted he get an education and at least try to look for other work.

He did that, but the desire to fish was just too strong. When a lobster licence became available in 2003, he jumped at it.

"My mind was set so hard on getting in that I never really looked at anything before I bought it. I just more or less bought it," said Runighan.

Getting in is expensive. Boat, gear and a licence can cost $250,000. Runighan's family had always worked on the North Shore, which remains lucrative, but Runighan is working out of Launching, on the Northumberland Strait, where catches have been collapsing for years.

Couple hoped for better things

Runighan's wife, Dawn, also grew up in a fishing family. She said they thought 10,000 pounds of lobster a year would pay the bills.

But catches have been much poorer than that over the last four years and it's made running a household with a new baby difficult.

"It can be very stressful," she said.

The Runighans are part of a group of Northumberland Strait fishermen who've approached the government for low interest loans to take some of the pressure off until the lobster fishery rebounds.

They opened their books to accountants last winter for a study the government demanded before offering loans, but they're still waiting and worrying.

They are staying afloat, but any unforeseen cost, such as a major repair to the boat, would drag them under. And they say other families are in worse shape than they are.

The group will get one more chance to make their case to Fisheries Minister Jim Bagnall on Thursday.