By Dave Casselman

Each year, men like Blair Ramsey and Bob Fortune go out onto the waters of Prince Edward Island to set the mussel long lines that are their livelihood.

In May they set the collectors that gather the mussel seed needed for the long lines. They return in the fall to set the long lines for the 18 months needed to grow mussels to full size.

Each year they set their lines and hope for the best, knowing that at any time mother nature could reach out and wreak havoc.

Still they go. They do it because the Island aquaculture industry has developed a mussel sought around the world.

The Island mussel industry has grown into a multi-million dollar business. There are now over 125 mussel growers on the Island. In 1999 over 13 million kilograms of Island mussels were sold around the world.

Since the 1970s, the method of choice for producing mussels for most mussel growers is the long line method.

"It gives us a mussel that grows very rapidly compared to one that stays in a natural bed," said Ramsay, a local north shore grower, in an interview for a fisheries department promotional video.

The long line method involves hanging long socks filled with mussels in water from a line across the top of the water. The socks are made of a nylon mesh that keep the mussels in but allow them to receive a steady supply of fresh water.

The average length of a mussel sock is three meters. The long line is held in place with a series of buoys and counterweights that keep the line submerged.

Unlike traditional fisheries, the aquaculture industry runs year round and is subject to the most severe weather conditions.

Tidal surges cause tremendous damage and arrive with little or no warning.

Surges can damage equipment, from mussel long lines to boats. Severe surges, like the one in P.E.I. last October, can even overturn boats.

Typically, damage to mussels during surges happens when socks rise to the surface. The mussels are held loosely in the socks. When they rise to the surface, waves batter the socks and the mussels can be shaken out and lost.

The key to preventing damage is to keep the socks under water, said Bob Fortune of United Mussel Farms on P.E.I.

"You want to minimize the amount of flotation on the surface."

It is important to make sure the lines are far enough in the water to stay submerged. Mussel socks of three meters should be submerged in at least 6 metres of water. The long lines should be weighted down with a 32 kilogram weight every 4.5 metres, said Fortune.

Once the long lines are set, they can't be moved. They stay in the water for 18 months and must be able to handle all kinds of weather. That makes it important to properly select your site and secure the mussel socks at a safe depth. Long lines need to be set in salt water with good circulation. The long lines should be in bays that are as protected from heavy wave action and safe from storms as possible.

In addition to the damage done to long lines from surges, unusually low tides can occur after storms, which also leads to socks being exposed to the surface of the water and damaged.

Environment Canada tries to warn fishermen when unusually high tides are expected. Warnings are sometimes broadcast on the radio. The amount of advance warning affects what can be done to prepare. When severe weather occurs, the safety of the boats becomes especially important.

"The safest thing to do with boats is to bring them ashore, but bigger boats can only be brought ashore where facilities exist," said Crystal McDonald, executive director of the P.E.I. Aquaculture Alliance.

Some of the boats used in the mussel industry are as big as lobster boats, they can't just be beached as smaller boats can. The boats are often used in more than one location, so they are too far away from where they could be properly brought ashore even if they had sufficient warning.

In cases of extreme loss the Emergency Measures Organization can apply to the federal government for assistance through the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangement. This program offers relief in times of widespread devastation, like the storm in January 2000 that caused over $1.5 million in damage in P.E.I.

Equipment will only be replaced under certain circumstances. It is important for industry members to have proper insurance. Equipment will not be replaced if precautions were not taken. For example, if a disaster happens when boats should be out of the water, the boats won't be covered.

"You have to do the things to protect yourself," said David Campbell of the Emergency Measures Organization.
  

The federal aid covers only the bare essentials. It is there to help get people back on their feet. It is not an insurance policy, he said.

"It will never put you back where you were."

Experts predict the future of the aquaculture industry holds even more challenges. Rising sea levels will lead to increasingly severe tidal surges. Erosion is wearing away coastlines and tides are rising.

Campbell says the industry should re-examine the locations of some of the long lines. With the increasing number of mussel growers on the Island, some of the sites being used may be less than ideal, leading to an increased risk from weather related problems.

"Climate change is not a myth, it is happening," Campbell said, and the industry must find a way to adjust to it.

Regardless of what happens, in the end it is men like Ramsey and Fortune out on the water setting the lines for another year.