Tag Archives: Graeme Gawn
Lobster wars
Burned out fishing boats, thousands of pounds of dumped, dead lobsters and allegations of a booming black market for the popular crustacean have drawn federal investigators to Nova Scotia’s most lucrative fishing grounds in the lead-up to lobster season. Tensions have been running high in recent weeks along the small wharves in the communities that dot St. Mary’s Bay, a well-known breeding ground for lobsters during the summer. While conservation laws prevent lobster fishers from harvesting the shellfish during breeding season in order to safeguard stocks, stunned locals watched thousands of pounds of lobsters that appeared to be commercial loads pass over their docks though the summer months. click here to read the story 10:53
DFO plan for at-sea observers met with skepticism by lobster fishermen
A federal government proposal to introduce mandatory at-sea observers on board the southwest Nova Scotia lobster fleet is getting a cold shoulder from representatives of three fisheries groups.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans wants observers to monitor bycatch of cod and cusk caught inadvertently in lobster traps. Bernie Berry of the Coldwater Lobster Association said the plan would require all fishermen to notify the government every time they plan to leave port — a process known as hailing out. Some would be randomly selected to have an observer from an existing monitoring company meet them at the dock prior to sailing. click here to read the story 11:37
Controlling Agreements – Future of N.S. fishery hinges on federal court appeal
The president of a Nova Scotia fishermen’s union is hopeful a federal court appeal in early 2017 will fail in its challenge of a ministerial decision to enforce policies insulating Atlantic Canada’s inshore fishery from corporate interests. “It’s also our hope that the policy, as well as the minister’s power to regulate the industry for social, cultural and economic considerations, gets strengthened under the Fisheries Act,” , president of the Maritime Fisherman’s Union Local 9 in Meteghan, told the Chronicle Herald in an interview. Enacted in 2007, the aim of Preserving the Independence of the Inshore Fleet in Canada’s Atlantic Fisheries is to enforce the owner-operator and fleet separation policies established in 1979 by Roméo LeBlanc — father of current fisheries minister Dominic LeBlanc — so that inshore fish harvesters remain independent, allowing the profit of fishing licences to flow to fishers and Atlantic coastal communities. Read the article here 13:19
Lobster season on Nova Scotia’s southwest coast delayed by bad weather
The lobster season on Nova Scotia’s southwest coast has been delayed by one day due to high winds a rough seas. The season was supposed to start Monday but has been put off until Tuesday morning at 6 a.m., said Graeme Gawn president of local 9 with the Maritime Fishermen’s Union. “It’s always frustrating because everybody is ready to go and they want to go, but nobody wants to get hurt and nobody wants to see their crews get hurt.” Gawn said the Department of Fisheries and Oceans made the decision Sunday morning on a conference call. The first day of the lobster season, referred to as dumping day, is when fishermen first set their lobster traps, it’s considered one of the most dangerous days of the entire season. Most fishermen are more than happy to wait until the weather is more cooperative to head out on the water, said Gawn. Read the rest here 12:24
