Tag Archives: Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw lobster harvester to file an injunction against DFO for seizing traps
“I’m going to get (my lawyer) to file an injunction on my behalf preventing the DFO from violating my rights until they get this moderate livelihood stuff settled,” Matthew Cope, 34, said. Cope, who is from the Millbrook First Nation, said he left the wharf in Digby, N.S. on Aug. 29 to check on his lobster traps when he saw DFO officers aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Vessel, The Earl Grey, seizing 60 of his traps. “We had ten trawls of fifteen each. They took six of them. We caught them in the middle of taking our trawls so I stood up beside them and I said, ‘What are you guys doing?’” Cope explained. “I have a pre-existing inherited treaty right for fishing and I have a right to do so unhindered,” he said. >click to read< 21:46
Quiet seafood truck protest: DFO urged to crack down on illegal out of season lobster fishing
The owner of a seafood company that has trucks parked at the DFO detachment declined an interview and wouldn’t comment about the protest or who organized it. Asked why the trucks are there the company owner simply said, “DFO knows.” The trucks were first parked at the DFO detachment on Aug. 27, the same day hundreds of commercial lobster fishermen protested outside of federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan’s office in Bridgewater demanding DFO provide enforcement. As they have in previous summers, fishermen have been raising concerns over what they say is out-of-season commercial lobster harvesting taking place. They say commercial activity is happening under the guise of the First Nations fishery and accuse some fishers of abusing the intent of that fishery. photos, >click to read< 20:38
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. So, it was nothing for him to leave Meteghan at 6:30 a.m. to make the two-hour drive to Bridgewater. He didn’t want to miss the big rally in front of the office of Bernadette Jordan,,, . There was a time when LeBlanc hoped his grandson, Joseph, who is eight, could follow in the family business. Now he’s not so sure. “I’m here today,” he told me, “because I don’t see a future in our fishery.” >click to read< 08:11
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. >click to read<
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<
Sheng Ren Zheng and company convicted in Digby provincial court of selling lobster illegally
The Chinese owner of a lobster pound in Nova Scotia has been found guilty of illegally selling lobster caught by Indigenous fishermen who were not allowed to sell their catch under the licences they held. Sheng Ren Zheng and his company, Guang Da International, were convicted Wednesday in Digby provincial court by Judge Tim Landry. The illegal sale of lobster caught outside of the commercial season by Indigenous fishermen in St. Marys Bay each summer has been an ongoing source of tension in the lucrative Nova Scotia fishery. >click to read< 11:46
N.S. lobster fisherman’s buoy ends up in Massachusetts 5 years after another landed in Norway!
On Wednesday, David Fanning spotted what he thought was a bright yellow beach ball washed ashore outside of his home. His wife walked down to the beach to get a closer look. Included on the buoy was a seven-digit phone number and the name Terry Saulnier.,, Saulnier said he lost the buoy last December or January. “I just told my wife I’m starting to be [buoy] famous,” he said. The lobster fisherman said he uses 42 buoys and loses around a half-dozen a year, but usually gets most of them back. photos, >click to read< 08:17
Nova Scotia: Residents raise alarm over causeway’s threat to local fish stocks
“This river is already dying, we’re already losing all of our fish, and along with losing all of our fish, we’re losing our rights as well,” said Nikki Lloyd, of the Annapolis Valley First Nation. Darren Porter, a local fisherman and fishery spokesperson for the Fundy United Federation, said over many years, he’s seen a reduction in productivity for both professional and recreational fishers. Government efforts, he alleged, to improve passage times have fallen short of what’s required to keep the ecosystem healthy. >click to read< 13:08
Ghost gear project first of its kind in Nova Scotia – New Brunswick fishermen consider ways to recycle end-of-life lobster traps
‘Tackling Ghost Gear: Collaborative Remediation of Abandoned, Lost, and Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) in Southwest Nova Scotia’ is a $432,000 project being funded through the federal government’s Sustainable Fisheries Solutions and Retrieval Support Contribution Program (SFSRSCP). The project is scheduled to run from July 2020 to March 2022.,, >click to read< 08:43
N.B. Association Looks To Recycle Lobster Traps – A New Brunswick fishermen’s association is trying to come up with ways to recycle end-of-life lobster traps. The Fundy North Fishermen’s Association has received funding through the federal government’s Ghost Gear Fund. Executive director Lillian Mitchell said there are several ways to recycle fishing lines and rope, but there is no responsible way to dispose of lobster traps. >click to read<
N.S. Premier Stephen McNeil: China not ‘reasonable’ requiring lobster shippers to assume Coronavirus liability
“I don’t believe that the requirement to accept liability on live seafood going into that marketplace is a reasonable one,” McNeil told reporters in Halifax Thursday. China is the second largest market for Canadian lobster, with exports of live lobster alone in 2019 valued at $457 million, most of it supplied by inshore fishermen from Nova Scotia. That demand has upended traditional economics in the fishery. Even as landings soared in recent years, the increased demand from China helped keep prices up. Earlier this year, it came crashing down when China shut down because of the Coronavirus pandemic. >click to read< 09:50
After years of protest, New Waterford man wins fishing quota case
New Waterford fisherman Paul Fraser has finally had his day in court and won. In a written decision released this week, Supreme Court Justice John Bodurtha ruled that Fraser is entitled to receive $264,294.98, plus interest, in compensation for the eight years his quota was used by another company along with $15,000 in punitive damages. “I am convinced after reviewing all the documentation from DFO and hearing testimony of the witnesses, that Fraser’s snow crab license was transferred to the defendant and fished for the defendant’s benefit since 2010,” concluded Bodurtha. “The defendant intentionally refused to pay Fraser for the use of his snow crab allocation from 2011 to 2018. >click to read< 20:12
Canadian lobster to China hits another roadblock, demand a signed declaration live lobster is Coronavirus free
Canadian businesses that export lobster to China have run into another border roadblock. On Friday, Chinese importers started demanding a signed declaration that Canadian live and processed lobster is free of COVID-19 before it can enter China. “It’s a bold thing to ask and we as Canadian exporters should push back,” says Stewart Lamont of Tangier Lobster in Nova Scotia. His company flies lobster to mainland China. Lamont has refused to sign the declaration, which makes Canadian companies liable in the Chinese court system if there is a problem. >click to read< 18:52
Nova Scotia Live Lobster Exports to China Hit a Snag
A recent coronavirus outbreak traced to a market in Beijing is disrupting Canadian live lobster exports to China. New testing measures imposed in at least three cities — Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou— have led to cancelled lobster shipments from Nova Scotia this week and delays for shipments that do arrive. “We’ve hit a significant snag,” said Geoff Irvine, executive director of the Lobster Council of Canada. “The latest news is that they will continue to do these random inspections, which has effectively caused many of the large shipments to stop.” >click to read< 10:22
Tasmanian lobster, abalone exports at risk as latest COVID-19 outbreak closes Beijing markets – “Australian seafood exports are not being blocked by China [but] authorities there have advised that they may conduct COVID-19 testing on live, fresh, chilled and frozen imports of Australian seafood upon arrival into China,” said chairman Nathan Maxwell McGinn. >click to read< 13:08
“Things could’ve been way worse”: Spring lobster season nears end amid coronavirus, “Things are stabilizing”
The Maritime Fishermen’s Union predicted a gloomy forecast for the spring season with the pandemic’s safety concerns, crushed markets and reduced processing capacity. But fishermen are taking it “day-by-day,” says the union’s executive director. “Things could’ve been way worse,” says Martin Mallet. “At least our fishermen have had a chance to go out and catch part of their catch.” Restaurants reopening is also helping market demand increase. >click to read< 08:49
Photos & video: 2019-2020 lobster fishery comes to a close in southwest N.S.
The six-month 2019-2020 commercial lobster fishery in southwestern N.S. and along the province’s south shore came to a close on Sunday, May 31. Here is a look at some of the activity at the wharves a the Yarmouth Bar and in Pinkney’s Point in Yarmouth County. Here’s a few images from Yarmouth County on the last day on May 31. Photos and video by Tina Comeau. >click to read< 09:00
‘Nothing is normal’: LFA 34 & 33 lobster fishery draws to a close in southwest N.S.
The commercial lobster fishery in southwestern Nova Scotia and along the south shore, draws to a close May 31. Crews are bringing gear back ashore at the conclusion of a season that saw a promising start with catches and the price paid to fishermen, but then hit rough waters due to the coronavirus pandemic. “You wouldn’t believe the amount of people that are already hauled up. Some five days early or more,” said Yarmouth County fishing captain Shawn Muise, following a day of fishing on his vessel, Force Awakens, on May 29. “Nothing is normal.” “The season was going so well at the start. Finally the prices were reflecting the market. But when COVID started, and as the price started to drop, you could see it in the fishermen’s faces,” Lots of photos, >click to read< 07:29
Amid escalating conflict, Ottawa orders temporary shutdown of Maritime elver fishery
The multimillion-dollar elver fishery in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick has been shut down amid escalating conflict between commercial and Indigenous harvesters, according to an industry representative. Riverside disputes and threats of violence during the spring elver fishery in 2020 rose to the point where local police intervention was required,,, The order says estimated elver removals were “far above the established catch limits in areas where fishing is occurring, which represents a threat to the conservation and protection of the species.” >click to read< 07:28
Coronavirus: Concerns raised about pending Cheticamp snow crab fishery
Setting day for the lucrative fishery is Friday and it runs until June 30. “Residents of Cheticamp are really scared and upset about the coming of the crab fishery,” Cheticamp resident Yolande LeVert said. “I’m not sure what’s happening here, I don’t know why there is not more communication with the residents of Cheticamp. Are there rules on the wharf when the fishermen come in for the ones that unload the boats?” ,, LeVert noted the snow crab fishery will see more than 30 boats arrive from around the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, mainly from New Brunswick and Quebec, for the Zone 12F snow crab fishery. That equates to about 120 fishermen, in addition to dozens of plant workers, many of whom arrive from Mexico. >click to read< 08:35
Gulf lobster fishermen offer to give up season
“Three dollars a pound is what we’re hearing,” said Susan Beaton. The Cape George, Antigonish County fisher was working on her new tiny home on Thursday. It looks out over the grounds she fishes each spring from her boat The UnManned. Water she doesn’t know if she’ll be fishing in two weeks. None of the 600 lobster fishermen along most of the Northumberland Strait and the Eastern Gulf of St. Lawrence do. “We need an answer last Friday,” said Duane Boudreau on Thursday. The president of the Gulf Bonafide Fishermen’s Association wants a ruling from Fisheries and Oceans Canada on whether there will be a season this year. >click to read< 10:06
Northern Pulp: Next step in possible restart expected to come today
On Thursday, Northern Pulp’s parent company, Paper Excellence, put out a news release stating that it intended to continue with the environmental assessment process with the hope of eventually restarting the mill. That will be unpopular with the broad coalition of fishermen, First Nations and concerned citizens who oppose the plan to pump treated effluent into the Northumberland Strait near Caribou. Those groups have warned repeatedly that the effluent could damage the Northumberland Strait ecosystem and harm the commercial fishery on which both aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities in the area largely rely. >click to read< 07:52
Nova Scotia lobster boat that sank was modified with tailgate
The Transportation Safety Board says an investigation into the December 2018 sinking of a lobster boat off Boutiliers Cove, N.S., found the vessel had been modified but did not receive a required stability assessment. The board says the Charlene A, a 10 metre longliner with 150 lobster traps aboard, sank in St. Margarets Bay when water started pouring onto the deck through an open tailgate at the rear of the vessel. >click to read< 19:28
December 1, 2018 –Crew safe after boat sinks on 1st day of lobster fishing season – The Charlene A. began taking on water about 1.5 kilometres off Hacketts Cove, N.S., shortly after leaving the wharf at 7 a.m. The crew turned around and started heading back to port, but the vessel sank 300 to 400 metres offshore. >click to read<
Fish farm limbo – Cermaq Canada gets more time to decide on Nova Scotia fish farm expansion. Lobster fishers in limbo!
The firm is part of Cermaq Global, formerly a Norwegian state-controlled salmon producer purchased by Mitsubishi Corporation in 2014 for $1.4 billion, with operations in Norway, Chile, and British Columbia. The company is proposing a $500 million expansion to develop between 15 and 20 open-pen Atlantic salmon farm sites, four hatcheries and two processing plants and needs a minimum annual production of 20,000 metric tonnes of fish. That’s an amount that, according to provincial and federal data, would increase the number of salmon farms in this province from eight to 28 and would more than double the current levels of production. >click to read< 11:15
Fate of spring lobster fishery up in the air
“We recognize that current market conditions facing our industry are challenging, and the need to ensure that logistical support systems are in place to facilitate the movement and sale of seafood products.” The statement then points to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit that will pay $2,000 a month to anyone put out of work with COVID-19 as a mitigating factor. But with lobster licences going for nearly a half-million dollars in many harbours along the shore and the right to fish crab inshore going for around $130,000 per trap, that benefit doesn’t relieve the stress of recent buy-ins to this debt-driven industry. Buyers and processors also rely upon debt. >click to read< 09:19
Coronavirus: Maritime lobster processors call for a minimum two-week delay opening the spring fishery
It’s the latest reaction to collapsed demand after measures to curb the spread of coronavirus shut down markets like restaurants and cruise ships around the world. The request is being taken seriously by lobster fishermen’s groups in eastern Nova Scotia, which have held conference calls since a letter from the processors, titled “Message to Canadian Lobster Harvesters,” was delivered March 23. The letter was written by Jerry Amirault, of the Lobster Processors Association of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, on behalf of “Canadian lobster processors.” >click to read< 09:46
Coronavirus: Despite no shipments to China, Nova Scotia seafood business is thriving
“Our first thoughts are with the people in Asia and China and the rest of the world, Iran, Italy and other countries that are affected by the virus,” says Leo Muise, Executive Director of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance. Shipments to Asia have slowed almost to a halt since mid-January when the virus began to spread. “Geo-political events that happen all over this world have a great effect on this industry. Three years ago when the U.S. government and the Chinese government got into that trade war, and China put retaliatory tariffs on the U.S., that’s when our sales to China started to boom because we have a financial advantage there,” >click to read< 10:53
First Nova Scotia Lobster Day being ‘shell-abrated’
With the final Friday in February officially proclaimed Nova Scotia Lobster Day by the provincial government, it’ time to ‘shell-abrate,’ says the South Shore Tourism Cooperative.” We’re delighted to have the honour of observing the province’s first Nova Scotia Lobster Day on the final Friday in February. Nova Scotia Lobster Day not only celebrates the province’s lobster fishing heritage, culture and economic impact, but it does so during the height of the lobster fishing season. In honour of the first Nova Scotia Lobster Day, a reception will be held at the Lunenburg Academy on Feb. 28 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Limited tickets are available via http://bit.ly/lobsterreception. >click to read< 08:35:15
Meet the super-plant from Nova Scotia’s shorelines: eelgrass
Eelgrass protects shorelines against storms, cycles nutrients and provides juvenile fish and lobster with places to hide and grow. If that’s not enough to convince people that eelgrass is a super plant, it is also many times more efficient at capturing and storing carbon than terrestrial forests.,,”If you lose eelgrass there’s nothing to replace it,” says Heike Lotze, a researcher and professor at Dalhousie University,, While protections for eelgrass can be put in place, Lotze points to a lack of understanding and recognition that what happens on land directly affects the ocean. Eelgrass is extremely sensitive to runoff (water carrying sediments and or chemicals) from land due to human activities such as development and agriculture (wastewater treatment plants). >click to read< 17:56
Nova Scotia: Lobster industry fears prolonged effects of coronavirus outbreak as exports halted, prices drop
A month ago, China appeared to be a land of endless opportunity for Nova Scotia’s $1-billion lobster industry, with fishers collecting record returns for their catches and exports to the Asian country growing to historic levels. Then, as travel restrictions and lockdowns in some cities were imposed in China in an effort to contain the virus, known as 2019-nCoV, lobster orders dried up almost overnight. The shore price, or price paid to lobster fishers for their catch, fell from a record high of $10.50 a pound to $8 a pound on Nova Scotia’s south shore last week, and is expected to keep falling. >click to read< 05:49
Seal attack on Nova Scotia island leaves a hunter left defenseless by fishery officers, with 26 stitches
Alexis Boudreault, 29, and nine other hunters were on Pictou Island Tuesday when the attack occurred. Only four of them were carrying hakapiks — clubs tipped with sharp hooks — after federal fisheries officers confiscated the tools from the others earlier in the day because their hooks were judged to be too long. Boudreault, therefore, was defenseless when the 225-kilogram male seal charged. >click to read< 14:21
Fishermen clash over fishing rights across the Maritimes, tensions are running high
Canada’s highest court has refused to hear a Mi’kmaw fisherman’s appeal to have legal costs covered in a lawsuit against Ottawa – a potentially groundbreaking case seeking to define treaty fishing rights. The case comes as clashes between non-Indigenous and Indigenous fishermen intensify across the Maritimes. Observers warn the simmering tensions could lead to violence if the “moderate livelihood” fishery described in Donald Marshall Jr. case two decades ago is not clarified. “By not dealing with it, the government is responsible for continued conflict in the fishery.” >click to read< 08:55
In Nova Scotia, extremes of elation and despair in wake of the Northern Pulp mill closure
There was despair and elation in northeastern Nova Scotia on Saturday,,, For Warren Francis, a lobster fisherman, and his sister, Chief Andrea Paul, this was a long anticipated moment., However, in nearby New Glasgow, Northern Pulp co-workers Kim MacLaughlin and Wanda Skinner say they are fearful for their families’ well-being. >click to read< 07:05
