Canada’s Largest Commercial Marine Event Opens in Moncton Next Month
Atlantic Canada’s all-encompassing commercial marine event, Fish Canada Workboat Canada, is charting its course for Moncton this January 24 & 25. With exhibit booth space nearly sold out, and visitor registration quickly surpassing previous records, all signs point to an exciting edition next month.
This biennial event is the largest commercial marine trade show in the country. At its last edition in 2018, a record 6,659 visitors took to the show floor, and current pre-registration ...
Will the Fishery be a Top-Tier Government Priority?
As our thoughts begin to turn to that most festive of giving seasons, the last thing anyone wants to read right now is yet another post-federal election analysis.
Enough already you might be screaming at this moment, if you have even made it past the word election in the lead sentence.
But in the spirit of the season, let’s look at this early gift of a minority federal government that Santa or somebody has flicked under the proverbial fisheries Christmas tree.
Did you ever receive a ...
The Twine Loft – December 2019
Passed On: Russell O’Connell – Upper Clyde, N.S. fish plant worker
O’Connell, 81, passed away on October 24. He was born in East Baccaro, August 5, 1938, to parents, Russell and Bertha (Smith) O’Connell. He was a hard worker and provided for his family with all his power. Russell worked many years as foreman at Cape Anne Seafood in Port La Tour and many other plants all over the county as long as his health would allow.
Passed On: Thomas Corrigan – Trepassey, N.L. lightkeepe...
On the Waterfront – December 2019
Marine Industry to be Showcased at Moncton Trade Show
Atlantic Canada’s all-encompassing commercial marine event, Fish Canada Workboat Canada, is charting its course for Moncton this January 24 and 25.
For those who make their living on, in and around the water, along with businesses who provide the related products and services to keep Atlantic Canada’s marine industries running, the event takes over the Moncton Coliseum Complex as Canada’s largest commercial marine trade show. The ...
Murky Waters Surround MPAs
After the Deepwater Horizon disaster, I dedicated five years of my life to fighting against the development of Old Harry, a hydrocarbon reserve midway between Newfoundland and the Magdalen Islands.
Recently, I have had to re-engage on a separate, but related issue of marine protected areas or MPAs.
In being more fashionable than practical, MPAs will needlessly expropriate prime fishing grounds from our intergenerational fishermen.
Although the whole world thinks marine protected areas ...
We Need to Protect our Seafood Farmers
As a proud Newfoundlander and Labradorian, I can sit in silence no more and watch an industry pioneered by scientists and dedicated farmers of the sea since the 1970s be slowly eroded and destroyed by foreign interest groups such as the Sea Shepherd Society and other ideological radicals.
This September, our farming industry suffered a catastrophic loss of stock due to an unforeseeable environmental event. This act of Mother Nature and the impact that it has had on our industry was no ...
What’s Going Right with Pollock
The single largest American fishery by volume, Alaska pollock, is having a banner year — and it is no accident.
The pollock industry is one of the most efficient producers of protein on the planet, yet three years ago the industry was in crisis. Pollock prices were at their lowest level since 2005 and there were huge inventories of product in Europe largely due to the discount wars on pollock initiated as Pacific Andes struggled and Russian competitors were ramping up to produce single ...
Sustaining Rural Communities – Part II
Last month, I talked about the imminent threat to the fishing industry in Atlantic Canada due to young people leaving rural communities.
I suggested that rural communities are being depopulated because the old ways of doing things don’t provide young people with the opportunities, incomes or lifestyles they want.
Keeping the young people — or attracting them to return — means we need to create new opportunities that can provide better incomes and more appealing lifestyles. This ...
New Study Outlines Good News for Future SW Nova Lobster Habitat
Above: Lonnie Snow photo
Overall projected changes in offshore lobster habitat for the region, as a whole, appear to be positive.
However, changes in resource management need to be considered to promote the long-term sustainability of the fishery in Nova Scotia, according to the findings of a new study published this fall in Frontiers in Marine Science.
The study was a collaboration between researchers at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ Bedford Institute of Oceanography ...
Record-Setting Opening Price in LFA 35
Record-setting shore prices this fall in lobster fishing area (LFA) 35 had fishermen in LFA 33 and 34 optimistic for a strong price when their season opened in late November.
“Everybody is puckered up for a pretty good price,” said Bernie Berry, president of the Coldwater Lobster Association.
In LFA 35, the season opened with a $9/pound shore price, with some buyers paying as much as $10 several weeks into the season.
“It’s the biggest price we’ve ever started out at,” said ...
