Tag Archives: Angus Lefort

Despite whale detection, western Cape Breton crab fishers will complete quota in days

Part of Snow Crab Area 19, Cape Breton’s largest crab fishing zone in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, has been restricted for at least 15 days by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). That comes after a North Atlantic right whale was detected last week by an acoustic sensor near Pleasant Bay.  As a result, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has ordered fishers with traps in Area 19 to move them to the far north or south parts of the zone by Monday evening. While it is extra work to move the traps, most fishers anticipate almost no impact on the overall catch. “Catches are good, so a lot of the boats will be finished up in the next couple of days,” said Sandy Doucette, who fishes out of Cheticamp. >click to read< 20:00

‘It’s a rough ride’: Ice woes persist for snow crab boats in Chéticamp

Angus Lefort got a text message Sunday morning from a snow crab fisherman who was trying to leave Chéticamp Harbour. What would normally take 15 minutes took about two hours because the Nova Scotia harbour is packed with ice. “It’s a rough ride,” said Lefort, the manager of Chéticamp’s harbour authority. The snow crab fishery opened Tuesday. On Wednesday, a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker arrived to help get the fishing boats in and out of the harbour. Video, photos, >click to read< 13:21