Tag Archives: New Brunswick
Fishing boat Captain Craig Sock honoured for Bravery
Craig “Jumbo” Sock, the Elsipogtog fishing boat captain who lost his life while rescuing members of his crew in 2021, was honoured Thursday with the Governor General’s Medal of Bravery. The Governor General’s office said in a news release that Sock was one of 38 Canadians to receive the Medal of Bravery during a ceremony in Ottawa Thursday. The award was presented to his widow, Sue Ann Sock, and their children, Tessa and Tyrone Sock. “On April 3, 2021, Captain Craig Sock lost his life rescuing the crew of the fishing vessel Tyhawk,” the citation from the Governor General said. “During a storm at sea, the boat capsized, trapping Sock and a crewmate in the wheelhouse. He freed his crewmate and then found the remaining crew on the overturned hull. Captain Sock re-entered the water to rescue an unconscious victim, pushing him to safety moments before disappearing underwater. Sadly, the captain did not resurface. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:50
Canada Expands Seal Harvest Licences in NB, PEI
Seal harvesting is an important and valuable activity for many Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. In Canada, it is managed in a sustainable, well-regulated, and humane way that supports Canada’s Indigenous, rural, remote, and coastal communities. In response to growing interest in participating in the seal harvest, today, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, announced that personal use seal licences will be available to harvesters in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. The focus of this harvest is harp and grey seals which DFO assesses to be in the healthy zone of the Department’s precautionary approach framework. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:43
Maritime lobster harvesters walk out of DFO meeting over illegal fishing concerns
Lobster harvesters from the Maritimes walked out of a meeting with DFO Tuesday after officials allegedly refused to discuss the illegal fishing that has been taking place out of season since August. At the beginning of the meeting, a motion was made by harvester representatives to discuss the issue of ongoing poaching throughout the region. When DFO officials refused to amend the agenda, representatives from Lobster Fishing Areas 27 through 38 walked out, according to a statement from 11 fishing associations representing 3,000 lobster licence holders from across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Representatives of lobster harvesters said they would return to the table when DFO is prepared to discuss a plan to end black market, out of season fishing, which they say is an “enormous threat” facing the industry. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:31
Bay of Fundy fishermen see uptick in poaching patrols
Many lobster fishermen say they have seen an uptick in Coast Guard patrols in the Bay of Fundy less than a week after a protest against poaching in Saint Andrews, N.B. “Last spring I didn’t see any fisheries on the water at all,” said Jaret Mawhinney, a sixth-generation fisherman. “Last fall I think I might have saw one boat and that was probably the first day. After that I never really seen too much.” Mawhinney notes lobster catches have dropped in recent years, something he attributes to poaching. Last Saturday, roughly 50 fishing boats from Lobster Fishing Area 36 – which covers waters from Alma to the American border – docked in Saint Andrews to peacefully protest illegal fishing and what they see as a lack of enforcement by the government. Video more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 19:32
UPDATE: Enforcement patrols return as frustration over poaching boils over
Enforcement patrols have returned to a stretch of the Bay of Fundy that local fishermen had said was left wide open to illegal fishing, including by foreign vessels. That’s after frustration over poaching had boiled over, grabbing headlines, finding its way onto the floor of Parliament, and resulting in local fishers threatening to “take matters into their own hands” this upcoming lobster season in the absence of federal enforcement. The Fundy North Fishermen’s Association says DFO has now deployed enforcement resources in an area known as Lobster Fishing Area 36 that stretches along New Brunswick’s Bay of Fundy coast from Alma to the American border. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:54
Editorial: Ottawa must answer the bell on lobster poaching
The federal government must do more to address complaints about out-of-season fishing and lobster poaching in the Bay of Fundy – issues that have come to public attention in the last couple of weeks as fishing operators in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia plead for better enforcement. Clearly something is amiss when you have local business owners threatening to take matters into their own hands by pulling up illegal gear – an action that may spark confrontations on the water or at wharves along the Fundy coast. The Nova Scotia fisheries minister has lent further credence by writing to his federal counterpart, warning of an underground fishery and reports of threats and intimidation for speaking out. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:18
More calls for Canada’s Fisheries Minister to resign
There are growing calls for Canada’s fisheries minister to step aside from her role. Around 50 lobster fishers from across southern New Brunswick gathered in Saint Andrews on Saturday for a peaceful protest. The fishers said they are fed up with continued mismanagement of the industry and failure to address critical issues. The protest was organized by the Fundy North Fishermen’s Association, which represents fishers in Lobster Fishing Area 36. The association claims there is a lack of enforcement in the fishing area, which extends from Alma to St. Stephen, leading to illegal fishing and buying activities. Fishers are calling on the minister to acknowledge the mismanagement, provide a solution and step aside from her role. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:39
Lobster harvesters ready to ‘take matters into their own hands’
Local lobster harvesters are prepared to patrol waters themselves and haul up illegal gear, which could spark confrontations with poachers, according to Amanda Johnson, executive director of the Fundy North Fishermen’s Association, which represents 150 lobster fishers from St. Stephen to Alma. “It could lead to a lot of violence on the water,” Johnson said at a protest held in Saint Andrews Saturday in support of local fishers and their families. Maine and New Brunswick poachers are now taking to Lobster Fishing Area 36, which runs along New Brunswick’s Bay of Fundy coast from Alma to the American border, ahead of its November season, Johnson said. Deer Island fisherman Dale Mitchell claims lobster catches have dropped 30 per cent in the last seven years since the start of what he called an “illegal summer fishery” in the region. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:06
New Brunswick fishermen fill St. Andrews Wharf Saturday as they call for change on the water
It’s not what you expect to see in St. Andrews but mixed in amongst the whale watching boats and small vessels, dozens of lobster fishing boats docked along the wharf Saturday. Local fishermen from Lobster Fishing Area 36, which covers waters from Alma to the American boarder including Deer Island and Campobello Island, and their families filled both the water and the wharf as they called for change out on the water. The protest is against what they believe is inaction by the government and a collective call for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Diane Lebouthillier, to resign. “We believe that she is not capable of protecting our fishery and protecting our resource,” said Fundy North Fishermen’s Association executive director, Amanda Johnson. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:26
Norbert Cunningham: Coast Guard can stop poaching
Lobster is a lucrative fishery in Maine and New Brunswick, and it’s past time for the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to step in an act decisively against American poachers. They can begin with sending in Coast Guard ships to drive intruders out while also initiating another attempt at a better resolution with U.S. authorities. The tensions aren’t new, nor is this the first such flare-up in our waters, but it may be one of the worst and have the most potential for lethal violence. Canadian fishers are seeing evidence and hearing the latest incursions are the work of organized crime, not just fishers straying a bit over unmarked and disputed lines on water. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:08
Fisheries enforcement ongoing in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
Recently, there has been much speculation and public discussion about the state of enforcement in Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Maritimes Region, encompassing Southwest Nova Scotia, Eastern Nova Scotia and Southwest New Brunswick, in light of an ongoing job action. For absolute clarity, fisheries enforcement activity in the Maritimes Region is active – to suggest otherwise is false. Fishery officers throughout the region continue to patrol by sea, land and air. They continue to conduct investigations and to work with other policing agencies, the provinces and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada to enforce the law. They are highly trained professionals and their dedication to their work is evident now, as it is every day. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:46
No one stopping Maine fishers from poaching N.B. lobster: group
Amanda Johnson, executive director of the Fundy North Fishermen’s Association, says a border boundary dispute has long seen U.S. fishermen sneaking across from Maine to set traps inside Canadian waters. But she says it’s now not being stopped as Canadian fisheries officers aren’t conducting enforcement patrols. That has Johnson worried about overfishing ahead of the New Brunswick south shore’s November lobster fishing season, but also for the safety of New Brunswick fishers fearing the potential for looming confrontations on the water. “Right now, the main issue is that there are no fisheries officers patrolling the water in southwest New Brunswick,” Johnson said. “They are kind of on strike, same as they are in southwest Nova Scotia, and DFO isn’t really disclosing who is on strike and who isn’t. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:15
DFO defends cut to herring quota that company claims forced N.B. layoffs
Fisheries and Oceans Canada is defending its July decision to reduce the herring quota in the Bay of Fundy, after a major New Brunswick employer blamed the decision for major layoffs. “We recognize the economic impacts this decision will have on the families and communities that rely on income from fishing and processing herring,” said Lauren Sankey, DFO spokesperson, in an emailed statement late Friday afternoon. Connors Bros., a herring processing company in Blacks Harbour, near St. George, announced this week it’s laying off 20 per cent of its workforce, which is estimated to be about 100 people. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:22
Layoffs at Connors Bros. seafood plant ‘punch in the gut’ for community
Connors Bros., a leading supplier of canned herring and a major employer in southwestern New Brunswick, is laying off 20 per cent of its workers, the company announced Thursday. The plant in Blacks Harbour, near St. George, employs up to 450 people, depending on the season. A Connors spokesperson did not respond when asked exactly how many people had been laid off. A news release from the company blames the federal government’s July decision to cut the herring quota in the Bay of Fundy. “We’ve been operating in this community for over 130 years and this is a heartbreaking decision, but it’s necessary to keep our plant viable moving forward,” Connors Bros. general Manager Chad Baum said in the release. A southwest New Brunswick fishing association is warning of tumble-down effects on the lobster fishery this fall after the herring quota reduction. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 19:00
N.B. fishermen test new gear in bid to stay on the water when right whales spotted
As of Aug. 13, fishermen in New Brunswick were forced to pull their traps and stop fishing on 35 separate occasions this year after North Atlantic right whales were spotted. But a new pilot program in the southwest is trying to keep lobster and crab boats on the water. Crab fisherman Greg Beckerton and two lobster fishermen, Judson Mitchell and Peter Mawhinney, are testing five new types of ropeless gear, with the goal of choosing two for a wider test in the spring. Beckerton hopes that alternative fishing gear that limits the use of traditional rope will allow fishing to continue when whales are in the area. “In a closed-area situation we could use this gear, and it would definitely be an advantage,” he said. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:31
Lawsuit alleges Cooke Aquaculture using shell companies to skirt U.S. law
Cooke Aquaculture, one of New Brunswick’s largest companies, has asked for dismissal of a U.S. lawsuit accusing it of using a complex web of shell companies to break anti-foreign ownership laws. Saint John-based Cooke Aquaculture has owned Omega Protein, in Virginia, since 2017. Omega is affiliated with another company that operates a Chesapeake Bay menhaden fishery, a small baitfish used to make fishmeal, fish oil and other products. The menhaden fishery under Omega has concerned environmental activists, who say the company is overfishing a fish that many species up the food chain depend on in the Chesapeake Bay, which is slightly smaller than the Bay of Fundy. The lawsuit alleges Cooke is violating the American Fisheries Act, which requires 75 per cent of a company fishing in the U.S. to be owned by a U.S. citizen. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:35
Decaying, dangerous wharves to be fixed under $70M plan for N.B. harbours
Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier announced the money at a news conference in Caissie Cape, a 30-minute drive north of Moncton and one of the harbours in need of repairs. “They’ve been waiting for this for four years,” said Marc Gallant, president of the Caissie Cape Port Authority. “It’s good news for us because, like I said, we need it to be able to maintain and keep the fishing industry going.” The repairs to the wharf in Caissie Cape will also address a serious safety concern, he said. As is the case with many decaying habours in the province, conditions at Caissie Cape are also dangerous for local residents and tourists who regularly visit. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:49
Shediac, N.B., marks diamond anniversary celebration with annual Lobster Festival
The event schedule has been posted for weeks, the sound-checks are done and now all that’s left to do is wait for 7 p.m. – the official start of the 75th annual Shediac Lobster Festival. “This is the longest running festival in the province and Shediac has always been a very welcoming town, welcoming tourist town, so this is our flagship event, hands down,” said Shediac Mayor Roger Caissie. Before festivities even kicked off, several shows were already sold out. Licence plates from the Maritimes and beyond filled the parking lot and excitement was evident at the big lobster on Friday. Officials say this year’s celebration will see expand to mark the major milestone in “grand style.” The 10-day celebration runs from July 5 until July 14. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:09
Gliders: Scientists add more underwater robots to monitor North Atlantic right whales
In the race to protect the endangered species, researchers are bringing in more underwater robots—unmanned vehicles known as gliders that slowly patrol the Gulf of St. Lawrence, passively listening for whales. Gliders can stay at sea for months, move far offshore and work in all types of weather. They’re equipped with underwater microphones that scientists use to track the animals. The team added a third glider to its fleet this summer, expanding its ability to monitor whales’ whereabouts by sea and air. It’s collaborative effort involving researchers from University of New Brunswick, Ocean Tracking Network, Transport Canada and Woods Hole Oceanographic. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 19:37
DFO enforcement official says many arrested in elver fishery will face charges
A top federal fisheries enforcement official says it’s likely many of those arrested this spring for illegally fishing for baby eels along Nova Scotia and New Brunswick rivers will be charged as part of enforcement efforts to try to rein in an out-of-control fishery. Tim Kerr, the Maritime director of conservation and protection for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said he believes deterrence is working, and the department intends to bring in new measures in an attempt to make sure next year’s season runs more smoothly. “We do expect a large number of charges and subsequent court appearances and decisions to be made against individuals who have been caught harvesting elver unauthorized this year,” he said in an interview Thursday. Stanley King, an elver fisherman, said this week the commercial sector has long been in favour of a traceability system, and is frustrated DFO would not introduce one early enough to potentially avoid this year’s shutdown. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:31
Lobster dispute settled a day after fishermen defy order to remove traps
A brewing battle between the federal government and lobster fishermen in northern New Brunswick appears to have come to an end. A federal closure of lobster fishing zones in the Gulf of St. Lawrence off New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula was being defied by hundreds of fishermen refusing to remove their traps. A news release from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans sent Thursday evening says that lobster boats will be able to fish closer to shore. “I am pleased to see DFO has adjusted the closure requirements and harvesters can now set their traps up to the 10 fathom shallow water protocol management line for the remainder of the 15-day period,” said federal Fisheries and Oceans , in the release. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:50
N.B. lobster fishermen defy DFO, leave traps in despite closure for North Atlantic right whales
Several fishing zones in the area were officially shut down early by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans at 5 p.m. Wednesday because of a North Atlantic right whale sighting. But at a meeting in Lamèque at the time of the deadline, about 200 members of the Maritime Fishermen’s Union decided not to remove their roughly 60,000 traps in the area. However, the fishermen say they will not go out Thursday in order to give the federal agency one more chance to negotiate. On Wednesday, a release from DFO said that the fishing zone closures, initially scheduled to last 10 days, would stay closed for the rest of the season. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:56
Acadie-Bathurst MP Serge Cormier says he can no longer defend his government on right whale protection issue
A northeast New Brunswick Liberal MP is joining the Maritime Fishermen’s Union in calling for a better balance between protecting endangered North Atlantic right whales and allowing commercial fishing operations. Acadie-Bathurst MP Serge Cormier criticized his government for extensive closures of fishing zones that he warned could result in “disastrous consequences” and economic losses of $25 to 30 million. “While we are trying to save an endangered species, these extreme measures are actually endangering our fishing industry and coastal communities,” Cormier said in a statement released Thursday. “I can no longer defend my government on this issue. I stand with the fishermen, the lobster and crab industry, the factory owners and workers, and the community members.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:14
Entangled North Atlantic right whale prompts fishing closure in Gulf of St. Lawrence
Fisheries and Oceans Canada has temporarily shut down part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to non-tended, fixed-gear fishing after an endangered North Atlantic right whale with gear entangled around its mouth was spotted northeast of New Brunswick Friday. The whale was seen northeast of the Acadian Peninsula and northwest of Quebec’s Magdalen Islands during routine aerial surveillance and was many nautical miles from land, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said in a news release Monday. It’s the first sighting of a North Atlantic right whale in Canadian waters this season, according to the release. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06: 56
Midcoast man again charged with violating Maine’s baby eel fishing laws
A Waldoboro man who nine years ago was convicted of tax evasion and underreporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in eel fishing income has been charged again with violating Maine’s elver fishing laws. Paul J. Griffin Jr., 52, has been charged with selling juvenile eels, also known as elvers or glass eels, for cash, which is a violation of laws implemented in 2013. Despite the recent charges against Griffin and a handful of others, Maine has had a relatively low number of similar violations for the past decade. It’s been a different story across the border in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where an alleged spree of elver poaching prompted Canada to shut down the fishery this spring. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:46
What Canada can learn from Maine’s approach to the lucrative baby eel fishery
Authorities in Maine say they have figured out how to regulate a fishery that is so out of control in Canada, the federal government has shut it down this year — the third shutdown in five years — putting 1,100 people out of work. Baby eels, also known as elvers or glass eels, are generally fished in rivers and streams in Maine, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and a handful of Caribbean islands. They’re shipped live to Asia, where they’re grown to maturity and eaten — the dish is so popular it led to overfishing in Japan and Europe, leaving seafood wholesalers looking to Canada. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:07
From tiny river eggs to ocean prey, filmmaker aims to capture life of salmon
As a child fly fishing on New Brunswick’s renowned Miramichi River, Nick Hawkins used to daydream about being able to peer under the tea-coloured water and see where the salmon were. Hawkins is one of nine winners of 2024 grants from the Trebek Initiative, named for the late quiz show host Alex Trebek. He’s getting $97,674 from two organizations that Trebek supported, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and National Geographic Society, to film the migration of Atlantic salmon — “from their home rivers in Canada to their feeding grounds in the icy fjords of Greenland” — and to document “the passionate efforts of those trying to reverse the species’ precipitous decline.” Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:17
Vehicle, boat, and building all burned in separate fires at Back Bay wharf
Firefighters raced to put out three separate fires early Thursday morning at the wharf in Back Bay, a small coastal community south of St. George. Chief Justin Johnston of the Eastern Charlotte Fire Department said a call came in around 3:30 a.m. about a vehicle on fire. When crews arrived on scene, they also discovered a large commercial fishing boat and a building at 24 Back Bay Loop Rd. were on fire too. “It was definitely a surprise when we arrived this morning,” Johnston said. The Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating. Additional crews were called to the scene, and Johnston said firefighters were able to get the fires out relatively quickly. Fishermen towed the burning boat away from other boats in the harbour to prevent further fires, he said. Photos, Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:15
Accused poachers ‘cannot pretend to hide,’ says province’s top court
New Brunswick’s highest court has shed light on an important decision it made in a lawsuit against alleged poachers accused of stealing baby eels. The Court of Appeal delivered its reasons late last month why it had ordered the province’s registrar of motor vehicles to turn over the names of 115 vehicle owners to Rothesay businesswoman Mary Ann Holland, the owner of Brunswick Aquaculture Limited and Alder Seafood Limited. Her lawyer Barry Morrison argued in a filing last month that Holland and her staff had witnessed dozens of people illegally catching lucrative baby eels in river estuaries in the spring of 2023 after Ottawa had closed the fishery. more, >>click to read<< 07:53
Hey-Hey-Hey-Lucky! Bas-Caraquet crab fisherman claims $64M record-breaking lottery jackpot
Merel Chiasson’s winning ticket was sitting on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year. A few weeks before it was set to expire, he learned he’d won a record-breaking $64-million jackpot. The fisherman from Bas-Caraquet, on the Acadian Peninsula, accepted the prize at the Atlantic Lottery office in Moncton on Thursday. It’s the largest lottery win ever claimed in Atlantic Canada. The winning Lotto 649 ticket was purchased in April 2023 and was set to expire next month, leading to speculation and rumours over what had happened. Some suggested it was purchased by a group of people who worked at Walmart, while another said someone had lost the ticket while hunting in the woods. more, >>click to read<< 13:22
