From Tragedy Comes Hope: Mother of Tabusintac Victim Taking up Cause of PFDs for Fishermen
It has been two years since Line Duvall lost her son to the ocean — two years that she has mourned and grieved, questioned why, over and over again.
She still doesn’t know the reason she lost her son Samuel Boutin, that cold May morning, nor will she ever know.
Instead of focusing on the why, she is focusing on remembering the son she loved so much and trying to make a change so others may not have to suffer the same fate.
Boutin was celebrating that weekend and he decided to go ...
A Winter From Hell: P.E.I. Shellfish Industry Back to Full Production Following Worst Winter Ever
There is a now famous NASA photograph, taken in March of 2015, of Prince Edward Island from space.
More than 520 centimetres of snow fell on P.E.I. this winter, one of the worst in recorded history.
In the photograph, the outline of Canada’s smallest province is so completely covered in snow that its outline is barely distinguishable from the ice surrounding it.
Somewhere amongst all that, James Power was trying to reach his oyster cages, buried under more than four feet of snow, ice ...
Cod — Rebuilding the Past or Building the Future?
In the past couple of columns, I have discussed the increasing abundance of cod and what it may mean for our capture fishery.
Last month, I ended with the suggestion that we need to focus on the kind of future we want to build, not on the past we lost that really wasn’t as good as some people seem to think. This month, I will pick up from there.
As we contemplate what we will do in response to the return of cod, we need to ask ourselves, “are we rebuilding the past or building the ...
Prominent Cod Scientist Labels Stock Recovery as “Remarkable”: Dr. George Rose Retiring From CFER in September
The apparent return of cod stocks to the waters off Newfoundland, particularly the Northeast Coast, has been the talk of the Atlantic Canadian fishing industry for several years now.
And the research of well-known cod scientist Dr. George Rose has been the catalyst for much of these discussions.
In the November 2014 issue of The Navigator, Rose stated that the fishing industry needed to start preparing for a return to Northern cod — creating quite a stir from both harvesters and ...
LFA 34 Lobster Landings Could Be Down Millions of Pounds
Overall lobster landings for the 2014-2015 fishery in LFA 34 could be down from previous record years as a harsh winter, which leaked into spring, created havoc for harvesters.
Ballpark figures by seasoned fishermen estimate landings could be down as much as eight million pounds.
Comparisons with the 2013-2014 season are impossible at this time because DFO has yet to release the figures from a fishery which concluded over a year ago.
“Catches were down in our area from a year ago, ...
P.E.I. Allocation Increase: Fishermen Will Land More Giant Bluefin Tuna This Year
Neil Perry might have a chance to land another bluefin tuna this year.
The Tignish, Prince Edward Island, fisherman, captain of the Little Moses and operator of Island’s End Tuna Charters, is one of more than 300 commercial tuna license holders in the province who received some good news in late June. Their quota was confirmed to be going up by 30 tonnes, bringing it to a total of about 156 tonnes for the 2015 season.
Prior to the increase, the quota was sufficient to allow each licence ...
Biodegradable Twine Regulation Helping Crab Stocks
During the spring snow crab harvest in 3K, I was pleasantly surprised by a DFO condition of license that actually worked for conservation.
A lot of harvesters were a bit skeptical about this regulation given the amount of regulations that are not working in fish harvester’s best interest and for conservation reasons.
The regulation stated: You shall install in your snow crab traps, a biodegradable twine which shall be a soft laid, untreated 96-thread cotton twine. This twine shall be ...
On the Waterfront – August 2015
East Coast and Garbo Lobster Sign Investment Deal
Massachusetts-based lobster distributor East Coast Seafood and Texas’ Garbo Lobster have entered into a partnership with long-term equity capital provider Seafood Investment Group to expand the companies’ value-added processing joint-venture, Maine Fair Trade Lobster.
The deal was led by Antarctica Advisors LLC, a food industry focused investment banking firm. Financial details of the partnership were not released.
“This is a highly ...
Project Helping Study of N.S. Lobster Populations: Lobster Recruitment Index from Standard Traps
The Lobster Recruitment Index from Standard Traps project began in the spring of 1999 after one of our fishermen members came to the Fishermen and Scientists Research Society (FSRS) with a project idea and our science committee was consulted.
It is well known that the lobster fishery in Atlantic Canada relies on newly recruited lobsters and so this project is designed to study changes in abundance of juvenile lobsters that will be recruited into the lobster fishery in the upcoming seasons....
Twine Loft – August 2015
Passed On: Kenneth Hickey — Southern Harbour, N.L. Fisherman
Hickey, 48, a well-known Placentia Bay fish harvester, was one of three fishermen that died June as a result of a tragic June 16 fishing accident near Davis Cove. The three fishermen were hauling crab pots in a 23-foot open boat when the accident occurred. Hickey was a married father of three children.
Passed On: Lawrence Trenholm — Murray Corner, N.B. Fish Wholesaler
Trenholm, age 93, spent 40 years as a fish wholesaler ...
