Twine Loft – February 2018

Passed On: Patrick Quinlan – Bay de Verde, N.L Seafood Processor

Quinlan, 88, passed away in St. John’s on December 15, 2017. He was born in Red Head Cove on November 8, 1929 and began his career in the trucking industry. He and his brother Maurice, bought a general store in the 1950s and then started Quinlan Brothers Limited in 1954. The business grew from there, expanding into fresh and frozen fish production and then to marketing their products under the “Q” brand that is so well recognized today. Quinlan was the first to introduce and assist the local fishermen to move into larger longliners when he brought the first such vessel to Bay de Verde in 1964. Many more followed and the product range expanded to include all the species harvested by inshore fishers. During the late 1960s and early 70s, the cod resource declined sharply and Quinlan Brothers then entered the snow crab business. The learning curve was steep and before long, he and Maurice had persevered to build a crab plant and market a crab product that was second to none. Following the collapse of the groundfish industry in the early 1990s, Quinlan’s became the first to venture into the shrimp business on the northeast coast of the island by acquiring a plant from Denmark and establishing it at home. Quinlan Brothers Limited was buying and processing shrimp just as the resource was made available to the inshore fishery in 1997. He received much recognition for his business endeavours, including induction into the Atlantic Canada Marine Industries Hall of Fame and the Turning the Tide Industry Lifetime Achievement award.

Passed On: Egbert Boertien – Souris, P.E.I. Fisherman

Boertien, 86, passed away at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on January 2, 2018. He immigrated to Canada from Holland in 1950 following his brother Stoffer Boertien. He was the last surviving member in a family of 10 siblings. He fished on 65-foot draggers in Souris and in the winter, went to Halifax to fish on larger vessels. He had his own 65-foot vessel built, the North Bay and later a stern trawler, the Howe Bay. Boertien then went to Usen Fisheries and worked on its vessels the Amy Usen and the Winchester. He bought the 50-foot St. Charles 2 in 1972 and started inshore dragging. In 1973, he bought lobster gear and fished lobsters in season and groundfish in the winter. He also taught at Holland College and was involved with the UMF, the Atlantic Groundfish Advisory Committee, the Eastern Fishermen’s Federation, the Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association and the Eastern Kings Fishermen’s Association.

Passed On: Everett Blake – Raleigh, N.L. Fisherman

Blake, 91, passed away on December 26 at the Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital in St. Anthony. According to the government, he was born in Spillard’s Cove (now called Straitsview) on September 22, 1926. However, it is more likely that he had been born a year earlier, in 1925. The government decision was based on census information, because birth records had been lost — perhaps because of a fire. He set his hand to whatever work was available. He fished, hunted and trapped. During the winter, he was busy knitting and mending cod traps. He became a good carpenter and built a number of schools and many homes.

Passed On: Dennis Smeaton – Triton, N.L. Fish Plant Worker

Smeaton, 56, passed away on December 13 at the Central N.L. Regional Hospital, Grand Falls-Windsor. He was the 14th of 17 siblings. He enlisted in the military and attended basic training at CFRC Cornwallis, followed by communications studies at CFSCE Kingston. With a desire to bring a greater focus to his new family, he decided to leave his career in the military and to move to Triton, where he worked at the local FPI fish plant, later becoming a shift supervisor.

Passed On: Angus MacIsaac – Foot Cape, N.S. Fisherman

MacIsaac, 94, passed away on December 6, at his home in Foot Cape surrounded by his family. Born at Broad Cove Banks on February 15, 1922, he was the son of the late Archie and Jessie (MacKinnon) MacIsaac. As a young man, he worked at various jobs. He served with Carleton and York Regiment in the Second World War from 1942-1945 in the UK, Mediterranean, North Africa and Ortona, Italy. After returning from the war in 1946, he worked in the coal mines in Inverness until his injury prevented him from working as a miner. He also fished with his father and brothers. He spent his life working as a farmer, fisherman and carpenter.

Passed On: William Kelley – Foot Cape, N.S. Fisherman

Kelley, 95, passed away on January 2. Born in North West Harbour, he was a son of the late Castleton and Mary (Townsend) Kelley. He was the last surviving member of his immediate family. In his earlier years, Stan loved working in the woods, hauling logs with his oxen and was a fisherman until he retired.

Passed On: Derek Patey – Grand Manan, N.B. Fisherman

Patey, 29, formerly of Yarmouth, passed away accidentally on January 1, in Seal Cove, Grand Manan.

Born February 14, 1988 in Yarmouth, he was a son to Russell and Shirley (Robicheau) Patey. He loved working as a fisherman, fishing for lobster, halibut and scallops.

Passed On: Donald Adams – Shag Harbour, N.S. Seafood Processor

Adams, 75, passed away in the Yarmouth Regional Hospital on December 25. Born November 23, 1942, in Shag Harbour, he was the oldest son of the late Bowmen and Doris (Goodwin) Adams.

In his early days he started out as a fisherman and moved on to start Adams Fisheries Ltd and Oceans Alive Seafoods Ltd.

Passed On: Gerald Young – Yarmouth, N.S. Fisherman

Young, 74, Yarmouth, N.S., passed away at home on December 25. Born December 1, 1943 in Harbour Breton, Newfoundland, he was the son of the late Elizabeth (Johnston) Young. He worked as a fisherman for most of his life, working in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

Passed On: Frederick Saunders – Birchtown, N.S. Fisherman

Saunders, 85, passed away on December 21 at Roseway Hospital, Sandy Point. Born July 11, 1932 in Grand Bank, Newfoundland, he was a husband, father, fisherman and a mason.

Passed On: George Green – Bayfield, N.S. Seafood Processor

Green, 78, passed away on December 28 at St. Martha’s Regional Hospital, Antigonish. Born in Antigonish, he was a son of the late Albert and Catherine (Huntley) Green. A self-taught business man since a young age, he had several businesses over the years and was the founder and operator of Love Me Fish and Lobster, a company he cherished, where he will be remembered as a master lobster cooker. He was also instrumental in the building of the Bayfield Harbour Authority Building.

Retiring: Nell Halse – Cooke Aquaculture Vice President of Communications

Cooke Aquaculture recently announced that Halse, would be retiring at the end of 2017. Halse joined the company in 2004 and has been the spokesperson for Cooke Aquaculture and their various seafood divisions. According to Cooke Aquaculture CEO Glenn Cooke, Halse played an important role in communicating all of the company’s growth and success, including their Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification. But she was also a key member in steering the company “through challenging times.”

Replacing Halse is Joel Richardson, who will take on the role of Vice President Public Relations on the executive team. Prior to joining Cooke Aquaculture, Richardson served as Divisional Vice President for the New Brunswick and P.E.I. branch of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters. He was also the former executive director of the Metal Working Association of N.B.

Retiring: Morley Knight – DFO Assistant Deputy Minister

After 35 years of service, Knight left Fisheries and Oceans Canada on December 27. Prior to appointment as ADM in 2017, Knight had been the Regional Director General of the Maritimes Region based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia since April 2015. He has held executive-level positions at Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) for the past 17 years and has worked at the executive level in the Newfoundland and Labrador, Gulf, Maritimes and National Capital Regions.

As the Regional Director General of the Maritimes Region, he was responsible for a region of approximately 700 employees and a fishery that had a landed value of $1.3 billion in 2015 and 2016. During his time, he oversaw a number of initiatives including support to science renewal, the implementation of Marine Conservation Targets leading to the Sensitive Benthic Area closures of Jordan Basin and Corsair Canyon, and the administration of licence reviews in support of PIIFCAF. He was well known for strengthening relationships with the region’s many stakeholders with a particular emphasis on indigenous communities.

From 2013 to 2015, he was the Regional Director General of the Gulf Region based in Moncton where he facilitated a licence policy review resulting in a number of modernizations to the policy such as new entrant criteria, and was successful in implementing new measures in the lobster, tuna, shrimp and crab fisheries.

Prior to moving to the Gulf Region, he was the Director General of Fisheries Resource Management in Ottawa where he was responsible for the development and implementation of fisheries management regimes across the country as well as the national licensing and catch certification programs.

He started his career in the Newfoundland and Labrador Region where he spent many years in the Conservation and Protection Division in various locations as a Conservation and Protection Officer, Supervisor and Manager. He spent a number of years as the Director of Conservation and Protection where in addition to leading the modernization of the program delivery and development of special investigative and forensic capacity, he led the monitoring, compliance and enforcement program to protect Canada’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone and the international waters outside of the Canadian zone. His final assignment in that Region from 2008 to 2011 was as Regional Director of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Management program where he led a diverse range of programs and the successful implementation of a significant self-rationalization plan for the fishing industry.