P.E.I. fishermen on the Northumberland Strait have agreed to delay the start of the herring season because they are finding no fish to catch.

Chuck White's herring net sits in his garage, although the season officially started on Sunday.

"It'd be nice to be fishing, but if there's no fish, and the quality could possibly be poor, it makes sense to wait it out," he said.

All fishermen on the strait have agreed to start fishing a week later. The combination of the hot weather and the full moon have kept the fish from coming in to spawn. The delay is a concern because the fishing is not so bad on the North Shore, and has already begun there.

"The north side is catching fish, and the south side is not catching any. We share the same quota; whatever they get, we don't get a piece of," said White.

The herring quota for the Island is 7,280 tonnes. The herring committee for the P.E.I. Fishermen's Association reports the fishing is better on the North Shore, but it's still not great.

Roe immature

Only a fraction of the quota has been caught, and the real target of the fishery, the roe, isn't very mature. The roe is the fish eggs, a delicacy that's sold on the Japanese market. DFO research has found that the males are usually running first, and that drives prices down.

Prices on the North Shore are running about 12 cents a pound.

White is considering going to the North Shore to fish out the season, but there are drawbacks.

"It's further from home, I'd have to travel in the truck to get there," he said.

"I'm not familiar with the area, so it'd be a bit of a learning curve."

There's also a lot more competition this year: about 160 boats, up from 110 last year.

White said if there are still no fish Sunday he'll have no choice but to go north so he can start making some money.

The season started a week earlier this year, a joint decision by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and fishermen, and White said it looks like it was set too early.