(From a speech to a protest rally in support of the small-boat fishery in P.E.I. as it fights against the fishery of the New Brunswick-based corporate-owned seiners.)

Peter and I live in Sheep Pond with our three children. I have fished with Peter for 10 years out of North Lake Harbour and since both of us fish we are totally dependent on the industry.

When I was asked to speak, my first reaction was some one else can do it; I am sure they would do a better job anyway. Then I thought about the events of the last several weeks and how so many families in our community, both fishing and non-fishing, have been affected and how people need to understand and realize exactly what is going on.

Like many people, I was not aware of the devastating and detrimental effects these seiners would have on our industry. When Peter told me about the seiners, my first thought was, “That doesn’t affect us. We are lobster fishermen.” He quickly explained how it did affect us. The havoc these nets render on all species amazed me. To actually see the tiny mesh and picture everything being scooped up in its wake terrified me.

The government says the stocks are fine but I find that difficult to imagine. I have had the pleasure of meeting some New Brunswick fishermen at the protests who have come to support Island fishermen. These men from New Brunswick will quickly tell you what these seiners do to herring stocks.

To realize they are on the North Shore of our Island, on our grounds, cleaning up everything in sight was nothing short of astounding to me. These boats were not 12 miles away. They were on our lobster ground. I cannot understand yet, how they are allowed to come here in our waters and how government condones it. As all fishermen know, territory is non-negotiable. If we fished lobster outside our traditional spot we would soon be put in our place.

Our children were aware of the situation with these seiners and thus had many questions. Many of my answers did not make sense to them, because even though they are children, they understand that if you catch all the fish there will be none left for the future. Our children know we depend on the fishing industry for our livelihood and all three have been out on the water with us many times. They understand conservation measures taken by fishermen such as carapace size and even they understand you don’t catch the babies.

They would know in the evenings when the phone started ringing that the seiners were coming back and Peter would be spending the night at the wharf. And that if he were still not home in the morning, I would be getting them ready for school and go to the wharf as well. We explained to them the importance of being there and standing with other fishermen to be one loud voice that government would listen to.

As the protests grew in size, the support from businesses and the community as a whole was overwhelming — people spending the night on the wharf beside fishermen to show support, businesses sending coffee and food and posting signs at their places of business. These acts of kindness and encouragement will not soon be forgotten.

The most difficult thing to tell the kids was that although it was the right thing to do, the moral thing, it could have serious legal consequences. This was no joke or game! In our home we tried to explain how we were standing up for our beliefs but at the same time the RCMP had orders to follow as well. There were no good guys or bad guys but yet an injustice was being done and had to be stopped. We are all members of this community and when the smoke clears we all still have to live together.

I knew in my heart the fishermen were doing the only thing left they could do but I prayed it would never escalate to the level it did. And one morning, I stood at Rollo Bay School and watched two police cruisers and two paddy wagons roll by. My heart sank. I just knew Peter was in one. Since then I have felt so many emotions it is hard to describe. I am so proud of the fishermen for standing firm in their beliefs and convictions yet I am so scared for my own family. I had to tell my children that their father was arrested, fingerprinted and had his mug shots taken. And then in the same breath try to explain he had done this for the good of our family.

The thought of having a criminal record for a peaceful protest makes no sense to me. I pray that all that has been done and sacrificed will not be in vain and changes will be made and that the future of the fishing industry will be protected for generations to come.