Is Lobster Larvae Decline a Factor in Whale Deaths?
Editor’s Note: This is Alain’s final contribution to The Navigator Magazine. Our long-time, revered, Nova Scotia fisheries contributor passed away on August 5 in Yarmouth. He will be missed, not only by the readers of this publication, but by the fishing industry as a whole.
Marine scientists now believe the lack of lobster postlarvae is the culprit behind the right whales vacating their feeding grounds at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy and migrating to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
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Organization and Lobbyists Could Be Solution to Industry Woes
When the late U.S. President Lyndon Johnson appointed a person into his inner circle, who at times had publicly disagreed with his policies, he justified his decision by saying he’d rather have the guy inside the tent peeing out than outside the tent peeing in.
When it comes to having any influence with governments, especially Ottawa concerning the commercial fishery, hiring lobbyists is the solution because the opposition is doing so and with results.
Three worried lobster harvesters ...
Shore-Grown Seaweed a Major N.S.-Based Industry
After eating a sumptuous lunch in Barrington Passage, in a place where lobster is pronounced “lobsteh,” my daughter and I decided to take the old shore route back to Yarmouth.
At Shag Harbour, I pointed out the spot where one of the world’s best documented UFO crash landings occurred a few decades ago. It was witnessed by a whole slew of people. Fishermen actually went to the spot with their fishing boats thinking the object might have been an aircraft. They were met with slimy waters ...
While Trump Cuts Funding to Science, Ottawa Adds Positions in Atlantic Canada
I have to note the difference between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when it comes to science.
President Trump will cut major programs such as the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA — the agency which is predicting an eight-foot plus rise in ocean levels by 2017), while at the same time our federal government has announced $325-million to be shared among the four Atlantic Provinces for fisheries growth.
Included in the package, an informant ...
The Bluenose and the Cape Islander: Two Different Fishing Vessels, Two Different Stories
Nova Scotia will have the honour of having two of its fishing vessels featured on Canadian currency when the Cape Islander will be part of a commemorative Loonie celebrating this country’s 150th anniversary.
The first one was the Bluenose, which first graced the Canadian dime in 1937.
Two different boats, two different tales.
The Bluenose was built in Lunenburg, N.S., to fish and race against its counterparts in Gloucester, Mass., in the 1920s.
The schooner design had actually ...
Trump Trade Threats May Not Amount to Much
The election of Donald Trump as president of the most powerful country in the world wasn’t an isolated incident, as other countries — especially in Europe — blazed the trail by electing people opposing global trade agreements and wide open immigration policies.
Great Britain led the way with its opposition to the European Union and voted narrowly to opt out of the organization.
France and Germany also have ultra-right wingers vying for top political offices, with free trade arrang...
EU Trade Deal the Perfect Christmas Gift for Our Fishing Industry
Christmas is a time for fellowship and giving, where, for a very brief period in time, an aura of peace and goodwill that seems to permeate the psyche of many of us, placing what we perceive as ill winds at bay, at least for a few weeks.
The problem is, when we awake from the festivities, the ever-so-brief lull which is like medication to dull the pain does nothing to solve the cause of the pain.
Free trade deals between nations have become a fact of life and as with most deals there are ...
Lobster Forum: An Important Step in the Right Direction
In my more than four score and five years of observing the commercial lobster fishery in Atlantic Canada, one thing has remained constant; the inability of any one organization, association or union of fish harvesters in LFA 34 (South Western Nova Scotia) to have enough glue to hold together for any appreciable amount of time.
Groups like the Nova Scotia Fishermen’s Association and the most recent one emerging out of the Barrington-Clark’s Harbour, area, evolved from crisis situations. ...
What is Lost When Taken for Granted May Never Come Back Again
The Tusket River, which I grew up within sight of, was once a prolific Atlantic salmon waterway in southwestern Nova Scotia, as were many rivers notably in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.
This was before a nuclear-powered U.S. submarine discovered where all these salmon ventured once they spawned in our rivers and headed out to sea again; a spot of watery real estate south of Greenland.
You could probably pinpoint the onset of this downfall of Salmo salar to that ...
Lobster Processing Revival in South Western Nova Scotia
When you think of lobster processing, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island readily come to mind.
But it wasn’t that far back that south western Nova Scotia was a leader in this field. And with the success of Riverside Lobster International, based in Meteghan River, about 50 kilometres from Yarmouth, the revival is in full swing.
Stepping back a bit, lobster canning was a major seasonal employer in this region from about 1840 to 1932, when the markets collapsed.
Places like Harris ...
