Damaged Trout River wharf, riverbank spells trouble for local fish harvesters

The community of Trout River on Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula is still dealing with damage caused by flooding in January.

The town was under a state of emergency for two daysafter heavy rains on Jan. 16 caused water to damage the river near the town, almost threatenedthe only school in the areaanddamaged the government wharf in the town's harbour.

Because of the damage to the wharf, a large section of it had to be closed to vehicle traffic. Unfortunately, that section also has some sheds on it that local fish harvesters use to store their gear.

"It has a big impact," saidBonnie Brake, a fish harvester and chair of the harbour authority in Trout River.

"We have no access to the wharf for gear. Myself as an enterprise owner, have equipment beyond that barrier which I can't get."

Brake and her husbandmay be cut off from her 400 lobster pots and 200 turbot nets, but they are lucky that only one of their two long liners was stored for winter in an area upriver known as the Island. Most others in the area have their boats in that area, and right now are unable to get them to open water.

That's because thebed of the river has shifted since January, and a buildup of sediment means it's too shallow for boats to be floated down. Brake said the river, and the mouth of the river, must be dredged in order for those boats to get down.

With crab season set to start in April, time is running out for people in the community who depend on the fishery for their livelihood.

"If something doesn't get done immediately with the dredging part of it and funding isn't found somewhere to cover it, then we're back to square one again," Brake said.

Wharf not an easy fix

Bill Goulding of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)says a hydrographic survey team was in Trout River over the weekend to prepare for dredging the river, but he saidrepairing the wharf will take longer.

"There's no prospect of having that completein advance of a few weeks for the commence of the fishing season," he told the Corner Brook Morning Show.

"I think the best scenario we can look at is 2019 season having the wharf restored to its functionality that it had before the damage, if not improved."

Goulding says once the survey is done, DFO will work with the harbour authority on a plan for harvesters to retrieve their gear and boats. The Trout River Harbour Authority met with DFO today, and they are working ona plan for where to moorpeople's boats.

On the upside, Goulding doesn't think there'll be any trouble getting approval for funding the repairs.

"I don't think federal funding is going to be an issue when it comes to the wharf repairs and the dredging that's going to be needed," he said.

"We don't have many situations like Trout River where the functionality of the harbour has been seriously compromised by damage that occurred in January. So I would be surprised if the needs of Trout River weren't identified as a priority for the upcoming year."