Cape Sable Island fisherman reflects on industry changes of past 65 years

cape-sable-island-fisherman-clifford-babe-gorehamThere’s been a world of change since Cape Sable Island fisherman Clifford (Babe) Goreham first started out in the lobster fishing industry 65 years ago. A native of Woods Harbour, Goreham began his fishing career at 15 aboard the deck of a boat owned by the late Johnny Adams, a war veteran. “After the first year I came to Cape Island and went hired for three years, then got a rig of my own,” recalled Goreham in an interview. The new, 36-foot wooden Cape Islander was named Little Jerry after Goreham’s first son, and cost $1,375 complete, he said.  It was the early 1950s and a personal lobster licence that cost 25 cents was all you needed to get into the industry.  Lobsters were selling for about 25 cents a pound. “We would save them in crates until they reached 50 cents and then sell,” says Goreham. “Since then we’ve come a long way,” he says. “When I started I just had a compass to go by, no radar. Then we finally got a radar, then a loran.” Read the story here 17:18

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