Tag Archives: Cape Breton
Membertou First Nation Chief Paul leaves Assembly of Mi’kmaq Chiefs in split over moderate livelihood
Chief Terry Paul has stepped down from the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs due to a disagreement over how moderate livelihood negotiations are being conducted. Paul, who is chief of Membertou First Nation in Cape Breton, had served as the fisheries lead for the assembly’s negotiation arm called the Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn Mi’kmaq Rights Initiative (KMKNO). Negotiations fell apart last week between that body and Fisheries and Oceans Canada over the implementation of a moderate livelihood fishery by the Mi’kmaw. Paul said Wednesday that the KMKNO is not adequately representing all of the province’s first nations. “I feel that not all the communities are being treated the same way,” >click to read< 13:34
Mi’kmaw fisherman intends to fight illegal fishing charges
Ashton Bernard, 30, of Eskasoni First Nation, said in a telephone interview Monday he will rely on the 1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision in the Donald Marshall Jr. case., A subsequent clarification of the court’s decision, however, also affirmed Ottawa’s right to regulate the fishery to ensure conservation of the resource. Bernard said he believes the first portion of the Supreme Court decision will prevail. “I wasn’t going to wait around for the government to tell us when to fish or not.”I told the boys, ‘Let’s go out and see how it goes,’ and now we’re into court.” >click to read< 17:10
Potlotek First Nation celebrates Treaty Day by launching its own rights-based lobster fishery
Potlotek First Nation in Cape Breton marked Treaty Day this year by launching its own Mi’kmaq-regulated rights-based lobster fishery. The celebration in St. Peters Bay on Thursday drew about 100 people and comes just two weeks after another Mi’kmaw community began operating a similar fishery in southwest Nova Scotia. Wilbert Marshall, chief of Potlotek, said launching a fishery on Treaty Day underscores the importance of the Peace and Friendship Treaties that were signed many years ago and still matter today. >click to read< 19:05
Mi’kmaw parliamentarians call for new body to deal with conflict over lobster fishery – Three Mi’kmaw parliamentarians are proposing a new approach to the conflict over the lobster fishery in Atlantic Canada that would bypass the system in use at Fisheries and Oceans Canada. >click to read<
Sipekne’katik First Nation issuing own lobster licences
After a blessing of its fleet on Thursday morning, the Sipekne’katik First Nation will issue lobster fishing licences at the Saulnierville wharf. On Tuesday, the Potlotek First Nation in Cape Breton sent its plan to begin a rights-based moderate livelihood lobster fishery on Oct. 1 to federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan. They weren’t asking her permission, but rather for her to consult them on what they intend to do. “We’re tired of waiting and we’re tired of being poor,” Potlotek chief Wilbert Marshall said on Wednesday. >click to read< 08:26
Cape Breton snow crab fishery escapes impact of right whale closures, Different story in New Brunswick
While a right whale sighting earlier this month triggered a closure to the snow crab fishery in western Cape Breton, the closure had virtually no impact. But unlike closures in other parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, these shutdowns had virtually no impact on the area’s lucrative fishery. “That’s something we’re discussing. Are we lucky or are we just in that sweet spot?” said Basil MacLean, a Cape Breton snow crab fisherman and president of the Area 19 Snow Crab Fishermen’s Association. In New Brunswick, where the boats and quotas are larger, it’s been a different story in 2020. “24 out of 45 members from the Acadian Crabbers Association each left significant amounts of crab in the water this spring,” >click to read< 19:15
The public is credited with helping Cape Breton fishermen through Coronavirus impacted lobster season
Herb Nash, president of the 4Vn management board, said catches were decent this year and those prices made the crustaceans a meal for everybody instead of simply a rare treat. “Instead of lobsters $7-$7.50 lb at the end, lobsters were $5 pound, so people were buying them,” the 55-year-old fisher said. “The local markets helped a lot this year.” This year, people could purchase lobster for $45-$50 a dozen compared to $70-$75. “If the local market wasn’t as good as it was, more lobster would have had to be shipped out to sell and I think we would have been swamped with lobsters.” Nash said with the pandemic affecting the community and businesses, they were grateful to get through it and get a paycheck.,, ”While this season was a historically difficult one, Nash can recall the 1970s when the lobster catches were bad back then — sometimes 15-25 pounds per day. >click to read< 18:13
Glace Bay Fisherman celebrates 80 consecutive years of working on the water
In a year that has been anything but normal, Jim Munden continues to be a figure of both consistency and longevity on the Glace Bay wharf. The longtime fisherman, who will celebrate his 89th birthday this summer, still plays an active role in the former coal mining community’s other big industry. And this year marks the 80th consecutive year that Munden has taken to the coastal waters off Cape Breton to ply the trade he first experienced as a nine-year-old boy.,,, When asked about the beginnings of his lifelong career, Munden likes to mention that it all started in a foreign country. “I was born in Newfoundland back in 1931 when it was still part of England,” he recalls.,, they moved to Glace Bay when I was a boy.” That’s where he started fishing. And at his side the entire time has been Dot (Billard), his childhood sweetheart, wife of almost 70 years and mother of their six children. >click to read< 10:54
Bad lobster season affects everyone in Cape Breton
At this time of year, the local fishing wharfs are feeling the effect of the coronavirus on their bottom line. Lobster fishers are facing the reality of an overseas market that has dried up causing prices to plummet to an all-time low.,, When lobster fishermen have a bad year, everyone suffers. Car dealerships can’t count on the fishermen up-dating their trucks at the end of the season. Those new trucks will remain on the lot. The local fishermen are a generous group who give readily to local causes. You can’t give what you don’t have. A bad season affects us all. What can we do to help out? Start by eating more lobster. When lobster is cheaper than ground beef, now is the time to get a good feed. Treat yourself to lobster every week until the season is over. Order a few extra dozen and freeze for the Christmas season. By Yvonne Kennedy, >click to read< 16:08
Cape Breton lobster fishermen struggle – ‘This is the first year I had to tell my fishermen I couldn’t move their product,’
There is a lack of demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the price for lobster has dropped to $4.25 a pound. In some areas, buyers are restricting the amount they purchase from fishermen. Marlene Brogan, the manager of Ballast Grounds Fisheries, a lobster buyer in North Sydney, said they’ve had to tell fishermen they can’t buy their catch some days. “We’ve been in business 21 years and this is the first year I had to tell my fishermen I couldn’t move their product,” said Brogan. She said there have been many days the fishermen at their wharf haven’t gone out to fish. >click to read< 14:19
‘A drink and a good yarn’: Neils Harbour man reveals the secrets to a life well lived, as he turns 100
Ron Ingram of Neils Harbour will celebrate a love of hard work, a life at sea and the occasional ‘nip of rum’ when he celebrates his 100th birthday later this month. It won’t be quite the celebration he’d hoped for. Ingram’s family had planned an open house. Ingram, who still lives on his own, was hoping people could drop by. Those visits from friends are what he misses most during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ingram moved to Neils Harbour, a small fishing village in northern Cape Breton, about 75 years ago. Born and raised in Grand Bruit, N.L., he started fishing when he was nine, according to daughter Kathy MacKinnon. He moved to North Sydney at 18. Newfoundland was part of the British Empire then, he said, and he had no choice but to continue fishing. photos, >click to read< and Happy Birthday, Ron Ingram!
Coronavirus: Uncertainty faces lobster fishermen as season opens in Cape Breton on Friday
The lobster fishing season will begin in area 26B and 27 on Friday, but the uncertainty of the world market has left many wondering what the season will hold for them. “The world market has collapsed, things are opening a little bit, so we’re seeing a little bit of hope,” said Marlene Brogan of Ballast Ground Fisheries in North Sydney. “Should the second wave of this virus hit, we don’t know where it’s going to leave us, so it’s concerning.” For the past six weeks, Brogan has had numerous conference calls with processors, fish organizations, fish harvesters and buyers from the local area, all hoping to receive further guidance from the federal government. “The federal fisheries minister (Bernadette Jordan) has not offered anything to the fishers,” said Brogan. Video, >click to read< 19:31
Cape Breton: Lobster fishermen protest delay to the season
About 75 lobster fishermen took to the Canso Causeway Monday, protesting the delay of the lobster season. The fishermen – who motorists going by said weren’t interfering with traffic — held signs on the Cape Breton side, while a few were beyond the bridge behind the guardrail. “The season hasn’t opened, that’s the main reason they are upset,” said Jordan MacDougall, president Inverness South Fisherman’s Association, adding May 1 is their usual season opening. “The Gulf area and P.E.I. have been delayed until May 15. Everyone’s upset about that.” >click to read< 20:12
Northern N.S. lobster fishermen fear impact of Coronavirus on communities
Leonard LeBlanc says his phone has been ringing off the hook. The retired fisherman now the president of the Gulf Nova Scotia Fishermen’s Coalition, “Last night I had a call from a fisherman’s wife who was crying on the phone,” LeBlanc said. “She said ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do this spring. My husband is going to have to be separated from me for the entire fishing season. We have two young kids and he doesn’t want to take the chance to infect the kids with the virus.’” Fish harvesters and processors have been deemed an essential service by the federal government, but some are concerned going ahead with the season would be a recipe for disaster for their families and communities. >click to read< 11:43
“There are a lot more boats coming and bigger boats,” Tensions rise after suspected sabotage of Eskasoni fishing boat
The RCMP are investigating the apparent act of sabotage at the St. Peter’s Canal and have copies of recordings from video cameras there. The Eskasoni fishermen were catching lobster under the banner of a moderate livelihood fishery. While the right was acknowledged by the Supreme Court of Canada in its 1999 Marshall Decision, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has yet to reach an agreement with the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs on how to implement it. Meanwhile, tensions rise as First Nations fishermen on the Northumberland Strait, Cape Breton, Eastern Shore and South Shore have started to fish outside of the normal commercial seasons. >click to read< 07:44
Lobster prices range from $7 to $8 per pound in Cape Breton
Lobster fishermen in Cape Breton are getting $7 or more a pound for the last two weeks of the season. Starting prices were $7 and they dropped to $6.50 for a couple of weeks before rising again to $7 for many Cape Breton lobster fishermen. However, some are getting $7.50 or $8 a pound based on who the buyer is. “I don’t understand why in parts of Nova Scotia (like the South Shore) they get fifty-cent more than we do when we’re supposed to have the best product here in Eastern Nova Scotia,” said Garren O’Neil who fishes out of Main-à-Dieu and gets $7 a pound. >click to read< 12:29
Taking a risk off the shores of Cape Breton, Recent mishaps remind fishermen of the dangers
Jack Billard gazes off into the middle distance as he silently prods his memory for details of his closest brush with death. The 79-year-old retired fisherman, who spent more than six decades hauling lobsters, crabs, fish and other creatures from the sea, returns to the moment and voices what he can recall of an incident that occurred when he was a teenager just starting his career on the boats. >click to read<13:21
Cape Breton snow crab season short but lucrative
Glen Burns doesn’t bother kicking himself over it too much anymore. “I was never much of a gambler,” said Burns. “You won’t see me at the casino or down at the fire hall.” It was 2002, he had a one-year-old son and lobster gear he’d just taken over from his father. What the Margaree Harbour fisherman didn’t have was $120,000 to buy three crab traps worth of quota to add to the handful he’d taken over with his dad’s licence. And what neither he nor anyone else knew at the time was how valuable the crustacean would become to Cape Breton’s west coast. >click to read<
Volunteers clean up Cape Breton beach of debris left by storm
You wouldn’t have been able to tell from Saturday’s weather, but just days ago, lobster fishermen in Cape Breton lost thousands of dollars of gear in a wind storm. CTV’s chief meteorologist Kalin Mitchell said a peak wind gust of 91 kilometres per hour was recorded in Sydney during Tuesday’s storm. On Saturday the community came together to collect lobster traps, broken fishing gear, and trash of all kinds from the shores of Schooner Pond Beach in Donkin. >click to read<
Cape Breton lobster fishermen trying to salvage traps after wind storm
Lobster season has taken a devastating turn in Cape Breton after strong winds and rough seas caused thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to traps and gear. CTV’s chief meteorologist Kalin Mitchell says a peak wind gust of 91 kilometres per hour was recorded in Sydney on Tuesday. Since then, lobster fishermen from Sydney to Louisbourg have been finding their equipment scattered along the shoreline of eastern Cape Breton, and now they’re trying to salvage whatever they can. “Trying to find everything, can’t find nothing,” said one fisherman in Glace Bay on Wednesday. “It’s all up on the beaches. It’s terrible.” Video >click to read<13:45
Cape Breton – Lobster prices drop for area fishermen
Cape Breton fishermen might be feeling the pinch of a recent drop in the price of lobster. The season for clawed crustaceans opened May 15 in the island’s largest lobster fishing area, which spans from Bay St. Lawrence to Fourchu. Marlene Brogan, manager of Ballast Ground Fisheries, said when the season opened the price of landed lobster was $6.50. On Friday, it dropped for some fishermen to $6, with the retail price coming in at $9.50 for live lobsters. >click to read<12:02
Two dead whales wash up on the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada
It’s too soon to say what’s behind the death of a humpback whale that washed up on Nova Scotia’s Fundy Shore near the community of Ogilvie, N.S. The humpback is one of two large whales found washed up along the Nova Scotia coast this weekend. “It would definitely take a pretty thorough examination to find out what might have killed it,” said Andrew Reid, response co-ordinator for the Marine Animal Response Society (MARS). He said his organization got the call about the carcass on the Bay of Fundy beach late Sunday. >click to read< 15:01
“There’s been an explosion of striped bass,” – VIDEO: Seafood diet of striped bass upsets Cape Breton fisherman
Believe it or not, Ray Briand wasn’t entirely surprised to find two lobsters stuffed inside a 72-centimetre-long striped bass he’d caught Wednesday night. That’s because the longtime Cape Breton fisherman believed his suspicions were confirmed. “They’re called wolves of the oceans for a reason,” said Briand, a Smelt Brook resident. “They fish in packs and they’re devastating our local fishing stocks. “There’s nothing left in our harbours except bass. Now we’re wondering if they’re going to damage our lobster industry; that’s what we’re really worried about.” Video, click here to read the story 12:19
Cape Breton lobster season shows signs of a good future in the industry
Lobster fishermen say they not only had a great season this year but also got a glimpse into a great future for the local industry. “We saw lots of undersized lobster and lots that were spawning, “ said Herb Nash, president of the Glace Bay Harbour Authority and president of the 4VN Groundfish Management Society. “You’d catch 10 or 12 lobsters and have to put all of them back but two or three as they’d be spawning or undersized. That’s a good sign for the future. If you don’t have them you don’t have a future. It was really good.” Nash said despite the season getting off to a rocky start when it first opened this was one of the best seasons yet. click here to read the story 11:41
Eastern Cape Breton lobster season looking good despite rough start
Rough weather delayed the opening of the lobster fishing season off eastern Cape Breton and a nasty spring storm three days later destroyed hundreds of traps up and down the island’s Atlantic coast. Despite those setbacks and the financial cost of replacing traps that can cost up to $100 or more apiece, fishermen are likely to have a profitable season by the time it ends on July 17 thanks to high landings and fair prices, said Herb Nash, a lobster fisherman out of Glace Bay. “After the first week and a half and we got straightened away, the season has really been excellent,” he told Local Xpress. “It’s one of the best seasons ever.” The lobster season in eastern Cape Breton waters normally runs May 15 to July 15, but after two days of stormy weather at the beginning delayed the opening, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans agreed to extend the fishery the same amount. However, strong winds and heavy rains May 20 kept boats tied up and left beaches along the coast littered with traps, many containing lobsters that were unsalvageable. click here to read the story 12:11
Donated, discounted traps going to lobster fishermen whose gear was destroyed
People in Cape Breton are rallying to help lobster fishermen after stormy seas drove traps onto the rocks over the weekend, destroying expensive gear and killing crustaceans. The weather station on St. Paul Island reported a northwest peak wind gust of 93 km/h. Bay St. Lawrence and Smelt Brook were especially hard hit. Stephen Bornais, a spokesperson for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said the number of destroyed lobster traps is in the thousands. He expected to have more concrete numbers later this week. Osborne Burke, manager of Victoria Co-operative Fisheries in New Haven, said some fishermen lost as many as 150 of their 275 traps. Burke spent Tuesday trying to round up replacement traps. click here to read the story 08:00
Rough seas destroy traps, kill lobster in Cape Breton
The lobster season along some parts of the eastern shore of Cape Breton has taken a devastating turn after getting off to a good start last week. Rough seas caused by heavy north winds damaged hundreds of traps, washing many ashore, according to people in the industry. “It was unreal,” said Glace Bay fisherman Herb Nash, who described it as the worst destruction of fishing gear he has witnessed since the 1970s. He was particularly upset by what he saw along the shoreline between Donkin and Port Morien. “When we walked the beach there were all kinds of spawning lobsters dead on the beach, lobsters broke apart,” he said. click here to read the story 21:34
Lobster season off to excellent start in eastern Cape Breton
The opening day of lobster season along the eastern side of Cape Breton is being described as perfect. “So far, so good,” said Merrill MacInnis, who fishes out of Little River Harbour along the North Shore. “Hopefully the conditions will stay great, that’s the big thing. It all depends on the weather.” The season in Area 27, which extends from Bay St. Lawrence down to Forchu, was delayed this year due to bad weather. It was to have opened on Saturday, but fishermen didn’t set their traps until Wednesday. They hauled them the next day. Click here to read the story 18:58
Lobster season delayed in Cape Breton by weather
Fishermen from Bay St. Lawrence to Gabarus have caught a couple extra days to prepare for lobster fishing season. Herb Nash of Glace Bay, a fisherman and president of the 4Vn Management Board Association, said opening day for Area 27 was May 15 but was postponed until Wednesday at 5 a.m. He said it the decision came from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the harbour representatives due to high winds in the forecast. “They will be adding the two days to the end,” he said. “The fishermen don’t mind the cancellation because of the forecast — they can’t set traps in that weather anyway.” Click here to read the story 11:39
Compensation coming for lobster fishermen sidelined by Maritime Link work
The company behind the Maritime Link has agreed to compensation for a group of 60 Cape Breton lobster and crab fishermen affected by the project this season. Work began last month on installing one of two 170-kilometre cables that will eventually cross the ocean floor between Cape Ray, N.L., and Point Aconi, N.S. At landfall in Cape Breton, cable laying and other offshore construction activity will close a three-kilometre-long and 600-metre-wide swath of ocean bottom to lobster fishing for the entire 2017 lobster season. “Emera needs a safety installation zone that remains clear of all fishing gear and that’s particularly important during the summer cable landing,” said Jeff Myrick, senior communications manager with Emera Newfoundland and Labrador, a subsidiary of Halifax-based Emera Inc. Terms of the compensation deal reached with the fishermen are not being released, he said.,, ‘Only reasonable’ to expect compensation click here to read the story 12:12
Proposed Cape Breton Trough Marine Protected Area – Fishermen left in the dark
Cape Breton fishermen are concerned that a proposed Marine Protected Area (MPA) off the western coast of the island could result in the closure of the local snow crab fishery. Bill MacDonald, a fisherman for three decades in the region and member of the Area 19 Snow Crab Fisherman’s Association, told the Chronicle Herald the association became aware the government was considering creating an MPA in the fishing region during a meeting with DFO officials last month, but said there’s been no additional information provided since. Because of fishing regulations in other MPAs, MacDonald said he has concerns the $70 million lobster and snow crab fishery that has supported the small coastal region for many generations could be at risk. MPAs are federally designated areas where human activity is limited in order to protect sensitive ecosystems and at-risk species. MacDonald said the association has been left in the dark, not only about the implications for the crab and lobster fishery in the area, but also about why the area is being considered at all. Read the story here 10:10
