People who fish off P.E.I. have mixed reaction to new parental leave benefits

Some lobster fishing captains on Prince Edward Island say they think there will be little interest in new parental leave benefits just announced by the federal government. 

On Thursday, Ottawa announced maternity and parental benefits for people licensed to fish in Atlantic Canada, saying that could encourage the next generation of harvesters to join the fishing industry and provide more flexibility to those with new families.

"I don't think there'll be a lot of uptake on it," said lobster captain Charlie McGeoghegan, who fishes out of Pinette on P.E.I.'s south shore. "I haven't heard anybody even ask for it, so I'm not sure where this came from." 

The new benefits mean fishing crew members with a licence could receive maternity or parental benefits while a substitute person fishes for them. 

"Me personally, I would not take advantage of that," said lobster captain Bethany McCarthy, who fishes her own boat out of Graham's Pond. 

"I don't feel like handing my boat over to somebody for two months is productive. It's an awfully big responsibility and I only have two months to make my living."

McCarthy fished while she was pregnant and had young kids, and knows many others who did the same. 

She said finding the right person to take over would be key. 

"There might be some women who it might work for them. I don't know how, but… they may have somebody that they trust entirely that they can put behind the wheel of their boat and they know it's going to get fished properly."

'Nice to have an option'

The P.E.I. Fishermen's Association lobbied for the change, and was happy to see the federal government offer the leave.

"It's always nice to have an option, isn't it? And things are pretty limited now, in terms of time people can take off. It was just something that makes a lot more sense for everyone," said PEIFA executive director Ian MacPherson.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada says the changes could help attract more women and young people to the fishing industry.  

"We're really hoping that this will encourage new parents to come forward and ask for the leave," said Rachelle Duval, the director of domestic fisheries policy with DFO. 

"This is something that we're really happy to be offering — and hopefully we get our first cases very soon."

The new benefits are available starting in January.