Seaweed Dreams
P.E.I. Man Celebrating a Decade Since He Sold His Dairy Quota For Kelp
“This is it. This is our finished product.” As he spoke, Joe Dorgan plunged his hefty, calloused hand into the container in front of him, emerging with a small mound of finely crushed, dark plant material.
It was dried seaweed, a mixture of rock weed, Irish moss, kelp and furcellaria, all collected from beaches across Prince Edward Island and crushed at Dorgan’s facility in Sea Cow Pond, near the western tip of the ...
NRC Working on Design of U.S. Polar Icebreakers
The National Research Council of Canada’s (NRC) facility in St. John’s recently hosted dignitaries from the United States Coast Guard (USCG), United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology (S&T) Directorate, and United States (U.S.) Navy to discuss and showcase progress made on the testing and evaluation of design models for the U.S. heavy polar icebreaker acquisition program.
During this phase, the NRC is conducting environmental characterization of ice ...
A Hard Year For Ice: Plant Workers Included in Federal Compensation Plan
Newfoundland and Labrador is no stranger to ice floes, but even the most seasoned marine veteran will tell you that the 2017 season has been unprecedented.
Almost daily northeasterly gales blasted the province’s east coast all spring, leading to unusually thick arctic ice being rafted unto the shore, blocking harbours and preventing many fishermen from reaching the snow crab grounds.
As a result of the constant fishing delays and much lobbying by stakeholders in the province, the ...
A Man Who Always Had a Plan
Lawrence (Laurie) Sullivan Passed Away April 5 in Calvert at age 59
Lawrence (Laurie) Sullivan had a plan to take his grandchildren capelin fishing in a new boat he was building next to his house in Calvert on the southern shore.
The 59-year-old fisherman and heavy equipment operator did not get a chance to carry out that plan, however, after an accident claimed his life near the town’s wharf this spring.
His son, Jason, said the family plans to finish the boat, but the tragedy has ...
Changing Course
P.E.I. Lobster Harvester Sells License to Follow Dream of Opening Craft Brewery
What’s that old business saying?
“Location, location, location.”
We’ll, nobody bothered to share that gem of wisdom with fishermen-turned-brewmaster Eric Wagner. And you know what? It probably wouldn’t have made much difference anyway — turns out if you sell a good beer, people will go out of their way to find you.
Wagner spent 32 years as a fisherman, sailing out of western Prince Edward ...
N.L. Northern Shrimp Quota Takes Another Big Hit
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has announced a 63 per cent cut to the inshore Northern shrimp quota in fishing area 6 — meaning the total allowable catch for SFA 6 went from 48,196 tonnes in 2015 to 27,825 tonnes in 2016, to 10,400 tonnes announced for 2017.
This amounts to a 78 per cent quota reduction over two years.
These dramatic cuts to the harvest rate are not in line with the reduction in the Northern shrimp biomass, claims the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union ...
LFA 33-34 Lobster Prices All Over the Map
The talk on the wharves prior to the opening of the lobster fishery in LFA 33-34 on Nov. 28 was that things would be different this year regarding price.
Last year’s benign weather conditions allowed some harvesters to operate every day for the first 28 of the season. Everything was sold at a decent price, including lower grade stuff, from opening day with prices topping off in some niches at $15/pound in February.
How things have changed.
With February on the cusp, most harvesters ...
A More Challenging Lobster Season
Lower Landings, Stormy Days Didn’t Lead to Immediate Price Increases
Same quality, lower quantities and strong demand but lower prices — so what gives?
This is the question most lobstermen in LFA 34 (western and southwestern Nova Scotia) are asking themselves as the heady days of Christmas are over and attention now turns to the Chinese New Year and Valentines Day.
Last year, at this time, some harvesters landed product 28 days in a row. This year, high winds cancelled the initial ...
Asian Markets Could Lead to Record Opening Day Prices in LFA 33-34
The lobster fishery in LFA (lobster fishing area) 33-34 closed on a very high note at the end of May with harvesters receiving $6/pound for their catch, the same amount paid at the opening of the season in late November 2015 a far cry from the $3.25/pound earned just a few short years ago.
And if landings in LFA 35 (southeastern part of New Brunswick and an area from Digby back to the Minas Basin in Nova Scotia in the Bay of Fundy) are any indication, the fishing season which opens Nov. 29, ...
St. John’s Maritime Rescue Sub-centre to Re-open
Above photo: Both federal and provincial politicians were out in force for the announcement to re-open the St. John’s MRSC.
Announcement Part of Broad Federal $1.5-Billion National Oceans Protection Plan
Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Dominic LeBlanc explained that re-opening the St. John’s Maritime Rescue Sub-centre was not only the confirmation of the election promise the Liberals made during the 2015 election campaign, but was a key part of ...
