Campobello Island mourns loss of fisherman originally from Chester who freed dozens of entangled whales

A small island community in New Brunswick is mourning the loss of a fisherman who friends say was killed moments after freeing a whale that was entangled in fishing line. Mackie Green of the Campobello Whale Rescue Team said Joe Howlett was on board a Fisheries and Oceans Canada rib vessel off Shippagan on Monday to help cut heavy lines from a large whale. Green was not on the boat but says he was told the 59-year-old lobster fisherman, who founded the rescue team with Green in 2002, was hit by the whale just after it was cut free and beginning to swim away. A Fisheries and Oceans Canada statement late Monday said only that someone was killed on board one of its vessels and would not provide any details out of respect for family members. click here to read the rest 12:00

‘Everybody knew Joe Howlett and everybody respected Joe Howlett,’ says Mayor Stephen Smart – “There’s only 850 people here on Campobello Island now and Joe was a very lively character, he had a great sense of humour. Everybody knew Joe Howlett and everybody respected Joe Howlett,” said Stephen Smart, mayor of Campobello Island, which is located in southwestern New Brunswick near the U.S. border. click here to read the story

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