Tag Archives: Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association
‘Expensive lobster is good for everyone in N.S.’: Winners and losers as prices of crustaceans skyrocket
Unless you buy it regularly, you may not have noticed lobster prices have quietly skyrocketed over the last couple of years. “Also, people had some more disposable income because the government programs, whether it be Canada, the U.S. or elsewhere, and I think everything has led to an uptick in prices, and the markets have remained strong.” Restaurant demand has now recovered, Berry says, but retail has remained strong and international demand has exploded. Wharf prices now are said to be nearly five times what they were during a slump at the start of the pandemic. Video, >click to read< 09:10
As lobster population booms off Canada, tensions rise between Indigenous and commercial fishermen
Under the close watch of federal officers on surrounding patrol vessels, Robert Sack navigated his old boat toward his clandestine traps in the cold waters that his people have fished for centuries, expecting to be arrested at any moment.,, Each trap had a special tag belonging to their band of the Indigenous Mi’kmaw people, who insist that a 269-year-old treaty grants them the right to fish when and how they want. But the government has rejected their assertion, and officers have seized their traps, confiscated their boats, and even arrested some of their fishermen. >click to read< 07>14
Conserving lobster stocks: Lobster landings data released by DFO show complex picture
Both Mi’kmaw fishers and people who work in the commercial fishing industry say conservation is a key concern. Some in the commercial fishing industry have pointed to declining lobster catches as evidence of potential harm to the fishery. The Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association has said it has concerns about the amount of lobster being landed in St. Marys Bay, which it says has declined 68 per cent since 2016. Fisheries and Oceans Canada released data showing a decline from the record highs in 2015-16. However, an examination of the 18 years of data shows a nuanced picture. >click to read< 08:10
Atlantic Canadian commercial fishing industry calls for clear regulatory oversight for all fisheries
The Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance (UFCA), a newly formed alliance of commercial fishery stakeholders, is calling on the Government of Canada to establish clear, lasting, responsible, regulatory oversight for all fisheries – commercial, food, social, and ceremonial. Established in Nov. 2020, the UFCA represents thousands of multi-species commercial fishermen, fishery associations, and associated businesses from across Atlantic Canada and its membership is growing. “It is essential that every community, association and fisherman in the Atlantic fishery have certainty as to the rules they abide by. Clear rules, regulations, compliance, and enforcement are needed.” >click to read< 07:30
Sipekne’katik Chief Threatening To Disrupt Commercial Lobster Fishery This Year
“If they can interfere with our fisheries, we’re going to start rallying up and blocking all of their wharves,”,, Sack says that on October 30, he spoke with a regional director of fisheries management for DFO. The director, according to Sack, informed the Chief that any untagged Mi’kmaq lobster traps would be confiscated. Commercial fishermen are claiming, however, that the Band has increased its fishing in the lobster breeding ground in recent days. On October 29, in a letter to Bernadette Jordan, several fishermen’s groups claimed the federal government is doing nothing to stop the unregulated fishery. >click to read< 11:36
Indigenous Services Minister says Mi’kmaw fishermen in Nova Scotia being ‘let down’ by police
“We must also recognize that once again, as evidenced by the scenes of violence, Indigenous people have been let down by the police, those who are sworn to protect them,” he told a news conference in Ottawa this morning.,, Miller was joined by Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair.,, The Sipekne’katik fishery operates outside the federally mandated commercial season. Commercial fishermen say they worry about its impact on lobster conservation, an argument Sack is trying to discredit. Colin Sproul,,, “The real gulf between Chief Sack’s position and mine is this: we respect and support Indigenous fishery access rights, which was ratified by the Marshall decision, but we respect the entire decision,” >click to read< 16:02
Yelling, cursing, but no physical confrontation – Lobster dispute between Indigenous and commercial fishers boils over again
Another contentious chapter in a very long dispute over Indigenous fishing rights and federal laws on conservation has begun. Thursday saw a handful of Indigenous lobster boats head out of southwestern Nova Scotia to lay traps using ‘licences’ handed out by a local Mi’kmaw chief and not from the federal Fisheries and Oceans Canada department (DFO). Commercial lobstermen in the area staged protests this week saying the Mi’kmaw are fishing out of season and illegally. The fishery is closed as it’s molting season when lobsters renew their shells, and mating season. They say the law closing the fishery for several months is necessary for conservation purposes and fishing at this time is not sustainable. >click to read< 10:11
Peaceful Protest: Hundreds of fishermen protest outside Fisheries and Oceans Minister Jordan’s office
Several hundred fishermen protested Thursday in Bridgewater, N.S., outside the constituency office of Fisheries and Oceans Minister Bernadette Jordan, demanding her department stop out-of-season commercial lobster harvesting and sales commercial lobster harvesting and sales by First Nations in Nova Scotia. “We are tired of being ignored over and over again,” organizer Colin Sproul of the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association told the crowd through a bullhorn from the back of a pickup truck. The protest is over what fishermen say is a blatant abuse of a First Nations communal lobster fishery underway in St. Marys Bay. >click to read< 17:06
Discontent arrives at federal fisheries minister’s doorstep – Roger LeBlanc, on Thursday sporting a Maritime Fisherman’s Union cap and a jacket bearing the name of Beausoleil the Third, his 50-foot lobster boat ,is used to rising early. He didn’t want to miss the big rally in front of the office of Bernadette Jordan,,, >click to read<
Fall lobster fishery now underway in Digby and rest of LFA 35 district
Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 35 opened at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 14 with the 93 full time and four part-time licence holders in the district heading to the fishing grounds in the upper Bay of Fundy. “When the season opens and the Digby fleet is coming through the gut,” looking from Delap’s Cove, “there’s a false sunset inside the Annapolis Basin,” said Colin Sproul, president of the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association. “There’s 60 or 70 boats coming out of there with four or five crabs’ lights each. You can see it right over the north mountains. It’s unbelievable. It’s like a sunset coming out of the basin at midnight.” >click to read< 18:40
Many topics on the agenda for South West Lobster Forum taking place in Yarmouth on Sept. 19
Five industry organizations representing lobster fishermen in Lobster Fishing Areas (LFA) 33, 34 and 35 are coming together to host the third annual South West Lobster Forum on Sept. 19 at the Grand Hotel in Yarmouth. The forum “is designed for the fishermen to come and get a handle of what’s going on in the industry,” says Bernie Barry, president of the Coldwater Lobster Association, one of the groups organizing this year’s event. The Scotia Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association, the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association, the Maritime Fishermen’s Union (MFU) Local 9 and the Brazil Rock 33/34 association are the other groups involved with the organization of the event. Barry says there are “numerous hot topic items” on the day’s agenda,, >click to read<11:17
Ownerless Bay of Fundy turbine operating without fish kill monitoring gear
Even before Cape Sharp Tidal, owned by Irish company OpenHydro and Emera, placed it on the floor of the Minas Passage two weeks ago and OpenHydro was placed in receivership days later, the 10-billion tonnes of seawater hauled into the narrowing between Cape Split and Cape Chignecto was already tainted by bad blood. “The opposition isn’t about just whether it kills fish because other things kill fish too — fishermen kill fish,” said Mary McPhee, former facilities operator for the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy, the government-funded tidal test site commonly known as FORCE. “What fishermen want is for the tidal power people to be treated in the same manner as they are. They want the law to be applied equally. So if a fishery has a quota, why can’t tidal power have a quota?” >click to read<08:47
Fishermen’s group grateful DFO lays charge stemming from lobster raid
A fishermen’s association is pleased to see the Department of Fisheries and Oceans lay a charge against the owner of lobster pound in southwest Nova Scotia who is accused of selling lobster caught under an Aboriginal communal fishing licence. Colin Sproul, vice-president of the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association, said he’s grateful DFO is taking action this summer. “Last summer, there were an incredible amount of lobsters poached in southwest Nova Scotia,” Sproul said on Thursday. “They weren’t First Nations people poaching these lobsters. They were just being poached by poachers under the guise of the FSC [food, social and ceremonial] and sold. >click to read<10:28
Job-related injuries create mounting danger for search and rescue workers
Submerged underwater more than 270 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland, Sgt. Damien Robison almost ran out of air. He was tethered to a helicopter hovering over a nearby fishing boat that was in distress. He was in the water to help save five sealers, but was hit by a 12-metre wave that drove him below the surface. Chunks of ice in the water whipped by as Robison tried to puzzle out how he and the sealers would survive. That happened on March 5, 2017, on what Robison considers a good day on the job. It was good because he, his crew and the sealers all got home safe. After that rescue, Robison said he was pretty banged up. He’s not alone. >click to read<
N.S. Fishermen call on government officials to crack down on lobster poaching
Bernie Berry glances across the wharf in Digby, N.S., as several fishing boats stop alongside for crews to offload their catch. As the season for this lobster fishing area — one of the most lucrative in Canada — prepares to close on the last day of May, it’s bringing with it a flurry of activity. Berry and others here hope the hustle and bustle of fishing isn’t replaced with negative activity come June 1. “Everyone knows what’s going on,” he said. “This kind of stuff has been going on for years.” >click to read<
Cape Sharp Tidal turbine removed from water – Fishermen, “For us, it’s a total vindication,,,”
The Cape Sharp Tidal turbine has been removed from the Minas Passage, but plans to conduct testing at another location farther down the Nova Scotia coast have been cancelled. The company had planned to move the turbine in April from near Parrsboro to St. Marys Bay to do some short-term hydrodynamic testing. But a mooring line became entangled in it, so the move was postponed. Cape Sharp spokesperson Stacey Pineau said the company now has no plans to resume the testing in St. Marys Bay. The proposed testing had drawn opposition from some fishermen, who said no environmental assessment had been carried out for that work. Colin Sproul, of the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association, said the removal of the turbine is “a positive development” because the company has not been able to monitor the equipment since the turbine was disconnected from the transmission cable two months ago. click here to read the story 18:52
Court challenge of test turbine could cost fishermen’s association
Fishermen who took the government to court may have to pay for it. Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy wants their legal costs to be paid by the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association after a judge dismissed a judicial review the company was involved in. The review was requested after environment minister Margaret Miller’s decision last June to greenlight Cape Sharp’s turbine deployment in the Bay of Fundy. So far FORCE is the only respondent to follow Justice Robertson’s invitation to file for costs, made when she was making her ruling in early April after a full-day hearing in February. “We’ve been advised that Cape Sharp is not seeking its costs,” said the fishermen’s association’s lawyer, David Coles, in an interview Wednesday. But the provincial government is still unsure of what its position will be, he said. Click here to read the story 20:33
Proposal to move Bay of Fundy tidal turbine raises fishermen’s concerns
A fishermen’s group in the Bay of Fundy is worried about Cape Sharp Tidal Venture’s plan to temporarily move its tidal turbine from a designated testing area to a site where an environmental assessment has not been carried out. The Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association said the move endangers fish and violates the rules governing the development of tidal energy in the area. The Cape Sharp Tidal Venture turbine is a joint project between Emera Inc. and OpenHydro. The turbine is currently in the Minas Passage near Parrsboro, N.S. Cape Sharp Tidal confirms that work is currently underway to remove the turbine. It wants to bring it to another area in the Bay of Fundy to do operational tests that would run about five days. “They have no approval to conduct that testing and more importantly is there will be no environmental-monitoring equipment at the site,” said Colin Sproul, spokesperson for the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association. click here to read the story 20:15
Fundy fishermen lose bid to stop tidal turbine in Minas Basin
A group of Bay of Fundy fishermen have lost a bid to overturn the approval of a project in Nova Scotia’s Minas Basin. In February, the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association argued in Nova Scotia Supreme Court that the province’s environment minister granted approval of the project without enough environmental data. The group, which represents 175 fishermen from Yarmouth to the New Brunswick border, says it believes the tidal energy program will harm marine life. The first turbine was deployed in November. In particular, the group has accused the operators of the turbine of failing to produce “relevant baseline data,” or a snapshot of the environmental state of the Bay of Fundy before the turbine was deployed. On Monday, Justice Heather Robertson rejected the claims by the fishermen, saying “extraordinary efforts have been made to evaluate risk” in the 2009 environmental assessment of the turbine project. click here to read the story 15:37
Bay of Fundy Fishermen trying to overturn approval of tidal turbine
A fishermen’s group has asked the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to set aside provincial approval of a massive tidal turbine in the Bay of Fundy, saying the decision was based on poor scientific data. The 1,000-tonne underwater generator was installed on the floor of the Minas Passage in November, but the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association has said the test project should be put on hold to ensure the bay’s productive ecosystem is not harmed. David Coles, the lawyer representing the 175-member association, told the court Wednesday that Environment Minister Margaret Miller overstepped her authority last June because the company behind the project — Cape Sharp Tidal — did not submit enough scientific data about the state of the bay prior to installation. “The minister was required to consider certain things, and they’re just not in the record,” Coles told Justice Heather Robertson. Read the story here 14:07
Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association gets another stab at Minas Passage tidal turbine
After an application it filed last July, the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association is getting another day in court. Justice M. Heather Robertson is presiding over a hearing on Feb. 1-2 in Halifax that will review the environment minister’s decision to authorize an Environmental Effects Monitoring Program. The EEMP was the final requirement the proponents needed before they could deploy an in-stream tidal energy device, or turbine, in the Bay of Fundy’s Minas Passage. According to documents filed with the court, BoFiFA claims that environment minister Margaret Miller erred in the law and acted unreasonably in her decision on June 20, 2016 by proceeding contrary to the requirements of the original EA in 2009. Named in the application are the Minister of Environment, the Attorney General, the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy Ltd. (FORCE) and Cape Sharp Tidal Ventures Ltd. Link 11:14
Cape Sharp Tidal installs first of two 2MW turbines in Minas Passage
Several months after receiving approval from Nova Scotia’s Department of Environment to deploy two 16-metre, 1,000 tonne turbines in the Bay of Fundy’s Minas Passage, Cape Sharp Tidal has finally submerged the first of the OpenHydro Open-Centre 2MW turbines at the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE), near Parrsboro. Cape Sharp Tidal plans to connect the turbine to the power grid in the coming days via FORCE’s subsea cable, which during the next several weeks will deliver Nova Scotia’s first in-stream tidal energy to the province’s power grid. The turbine was towed on a barge from West Bay to the FORCE site on Monday morning, and then lowered to the sea floor in a four-hour operation during an ebb tide. The deployment follows months of delay for environmental review and an injunction request filed by the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association, challenging the approval of Nova Scotia’s Environment Minister over concerns regarding the project’s possible impacts on sealife. Read the story here 18:24
After months of outcry from fishermen, Cape Sharp Tidal prepares to deploy Bay of Fundy turbine
After months of outcry from fishermen, a tidal power company has started preparations to deploy an energy-generating turbine in the Minas Basin near Parrsborro, N.S. The company has a week long window to install the turbine. On Saturday, Cape Sharp Tidal Ventures started launching the first of two planned turbines, intended to generate power from water passing through the Bay of Fundy inlet. The first was moved from Saint John to Parrsborro Friday night. By Saturday afternoon, the turbine was on its subsea base, and was waiting to be moved into the basin Passage by a barge and tugboat, the company said by email. It’s unclear when the installation will be finished, but the crews can only work on it during twice-daily slack tides. The project has been met with opposition led by the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association. The group believes the five-storey turbines will cause irreparable harm to marine life and fisheries. “We’re extremely disappointed that the chance to get our accurate baseline science in the Minas Passage is forever lost in Nova Scotia,” association spokesman Colin Sproul said Saturday. Read the rest here 9:48
Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Jamie Campbell rules against Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association
Bay of Fundy fishermen have failed in their bid to stop the deployment of electricity-generating in the Minas Basin near Parrsboro, N.S. In a ruling released today, Justice Jamie Campbell of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court said there is no evidence to suggest irreparable harm will be caused by putting the turbines in the water from now until next February. That’s when the court is scheduled to hear an appeal of the government’s decision to permit the deployment of the turbines. The Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association went to court last week to try to get an injunction to stop Cape Sharp Tidal Ventures from putting two test turbines in the water. Campbell said the fishermen have legitimate concerns. But the judge also noted there was nothing to suggest that having the turbines in the water for the next four months would have a lasting impact. Read the rest here 13:32
Bay of Fundy tidal energy battle heads to court Thursday
The Nova Scotia government and a company attempting to deploy two tidal turbines in the Bay of Fundy have joined forces to fight a move by a fishermen’s association to block the venture. The Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association is scheduled to appear Thursday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court to ask for a stay on an approval that will allow Cape Sharp Tidal Ventures to install two 16-metre-wide turbines at the bottom of the Minas Passage. Cape Sharp Tidal is a partnership between Halifax-based Emera, parent company of Nova Scotia Power, and French-owned Open Hydro. The province and Cape Sharp Tidal want the court to dismiss the application. Read the story here 09:57
Fishermen looking to derail Bay of Fundy tidal project head to court
An ambitious plan to lower two massive turbines into the Bay of Fundy, where they will be tested against the awesome power of the world’s highest tides, has hit more legal turbulence. A group of Nova Scotia fishermen will seek a court order to suspend the Cape Sharp Tidal project until a judge can review the case early next year. The 175-member Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association confirmed Sept. 27 that it will head to court Oct. 20 to seek a stay of a June decision by Nova Scotia’s environment minister to approve the project’s test phase. “It’s is critically important,” spokesman Colin Sproul said in an interview. “If that turbine goes in the water in the Bay of Fundy (this fall) …. it will never be removed. That’s why it’s so critical for our case for the stay application to pass.” Read the story here 16:32
Nova Scotia fishermen were in court today to stop Bay of Fundy tidal test project
A group representing 175 Nova Scotia fishermen appeared in court Thursday in a bid stop a plan to test giant electric turbines in the Bay of Fundy. The Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association says the Cape Sharp Tidal project is based on “junk science” and should be put on hold until a year-long study can establish a scientific baseline for the state of the bay. In June, Nova Scotia’s environment minister granted approval for the installation of two, five-storey turbines on the bottom of the bay for tidal power research. The association has filed an application for a judicial review of that decision, saying the minister acted unreasonably and failed to adequately consider evidence that suggests the project requires more study. Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge Denise Boudreau said a two-day hearing on the merits of the application would begin on Feb. 1, 2017. As well, she said a hearing could be held on Oct. 20 if the association decides to file a motion seeking a stay of the minister’s decision. Link 17:02
Bay of Fundy Fishermen taking Nova Scotia provincial government to court over the tidal industry
The Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association (BFIFA) filed a formal application July 25 asking the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to review and quash a decision by the provincial minister of Environment. In late June Margaret Miller approved the environmental effects monitoring program for the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) and Cape Sharp Tidal Venture, effectively allowing the installation of two tidal turbines in the Minas Passage. Colin Sproul, fisherman and spokesperson with BFIFA, says the association is confident the court will recognize the same problems he sees with the minister’s decisions. “There is a wealth of information that was overlooked by the minister in making her decision,” said Sproul. “We are in a situation now where the province of Nova Scotia is involved in legal action against fishermen. Fishermen are on the side of conservation and the government is on the side of industry – this is a dangerous precedent for the environment of Nova Scotia.” Read the rest here 08:12
Bay of Fundy fishermen’s group mulls legal action to stop tidal turbine project
Nova Scotia Environment Minister Margaret Miller announced approval Monday of a monitoring plan drawn up by the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) and Cape Sharp Tidal Venture. But the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association says little is known about marine life in the area and the instream tidal turbines can’t be made safe for the ecosystem. “I think she based her decision on industry-funded junk science and on political considerations,” says Colin Sproul, a lobster fisherman with the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association. “She chose to completely ignore the voice and concerns of every fishing group in Nova Scotia, multiple environmental groups, as well as First Nations.” Video, Read the rest here 15:26
Bay of Fundy tidal turbines on hold over environmental concerns
Plans for the installation of a tidal turbine on the bottom of the ocean floor in the Bay of Fundy, N.S., have been put on hold. The company, Cape Sharp Tidal and the provincial government have postponed the project. Fishermen and scientists are concerned about the impact the turbines could have on an important and diverse marine ecosystem. Lobster fisherman Colin Sproul of the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association is against installing the tidal turbines. He tells The Current‘s Anna Maria Tremonti why stopping this project is important to him. “The reason for our involvement in this is to preserve our way of life and our culture. The bay has sustained us for 400 years. My family has five generations of involvement in this industry and we will not see it washed it away by corporate efficiency and greed.” Audio report, Listen, read the rest here 08:01
Fundy Tidal tests on hold, more consultations to be held before turbine launch
Cape Sharp Tidal has put the brakes on the deployment of its first turbine in the Bay of Fundy, originally set for this weekend so it can meet with concerned community members. Sarah Dawson, community relations manager with Cape Sharp Tidal told the Chronicle Herald Thursday that despite extensive outreach activities, there are still stakeholders in the region that feel like they have not been fully heard. “We are taking a pause to. . .hear from those who don’t feel like they have an opportunity. It’s important that we listen and we learn and we always learn from these sorts of engagements,” Dawson said in an interview. (then they’ll stick it in!) Dawson wouldn’t say how long they will be delaying the deployment. “It’s a positive step,” said Minas Basin weir fisherman Darren Porter. Read the rest here 19:05
