Tag Archives: Miramichi Bay

The Legal Fishery Sparking Arrests and Violence

Atlantic Canada is home to the country’s most lucrative fisheries, including lobster—with an export value of CAN $3.2-billion in 2021—and young American eels, or elvers, which can sell for $5,000 per kilogram. But in 1999, the Supreme Court decision changed who could take a slice of this profitable pie. The court ruled in the case of Donald Marshall Jr. from Membertou First Nation in Nova Scotia. Marshall had been arrested in 1993 for catching and selling adult eels without a license and for harvesting outside the commercial fishing season. When the Supreme Court acquitted Marshall, six years later, the decision hinged on his treaty rights as an Indigenous person. Beyond acquitting him, the ruling—known as the Marshall decision—legally affirmed the rights of individuals belonging to 35 Mi’kmaq, Wolastoqey, and Peskotomuhkati First Nations to earn a living by fishing. Photos, >>click to read<< 10:31

Last lobster season for ‘canners’ – More lobster is the goal

New Brunswick lobster fishermen along the Bay of Chaleur, Acadian Peninsula and Miramichi Bay are setting their traps for the 2022 season Tuesday and this is the last year they’ll be fishing for two different size and price classes. Members of the Maritime Fishermen’s Union in Lobster Fishing Area 23 voted 75 per cent in favour of phasing out the “canner” size, a spokesperson for the group confirmed. Indigenous organizations were also consulted about the change, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said in a news release. >click to read< 12:30

‘I’m still shaken up from it:’ Fishing boat captain tells about helicopter rescue

A fishing crew from Esgenoopetitj, N.B., is happy to be high and dry after running into trouble in Miramichi Bay this week. The crew called for help at about 10:30 p.m. Sunday when they developed problems with their boat’s hydraulic system. They were attempting to make it back to port in Neguac with limited steering when they became stuck on a sandbar about three kilometres away. “The rescue helicopter came by, and we could hear it and see it, but they couldn’t see us unfortunately,” the boat’s captain, Buddy Dedam, told Shift‘s Vanessa Vander Valk. “It was very foggy and our flares didn’t shoot off, our LED lights were not bright enough for them to see us.” Video,  click here to read the story 08:42

3 fishermen in Miramichi Bay hoisted to safety by Cormorant

Three fishermen were rescued early Monday after their vessel ran aground in Miramichi Bay near Neguac. The crew sent a mayday call at about 10:30 p.m. Sunday and were rescued eight hours later. “They were taking on water,” said Alex Roy, a naval cadet from the Joint Task Force Atlantic in Nova Scotia. A search-and-rescue team 14 Wing Greenwood was dispatched in a Cormorant helicopter to locate the boat. “The fishing vessel ran aground on a sandbar,” Roy said.  The fishermen were hoisted into the Cormorant and transported to the Neguac ballfield, where an ambulance was waiting. No other details were available Link 15:07