Tag Archives: Port Stanley

Fire crews fight Port Stanley boat fire that caused $750,000 in damage, man arrested

Police and firefighters responded to the town’s harbour shortly before midnight Saturday after receiving reports a commercial fishing vessel was on fire, Const. Troy Carlson, a spokesperson for Elgin OPP, said. Officers arrested a 19-year-old man, who remained in custody Sunday afternoon. No charges had been laid as of then. Video captured by Chris Gregurovic showed the boat, called Lady Pietra, fully engulfed in flames, smoke billowing from the top of the vessel and firefighters attempting to put out the blaze. >click to read< 09:35

Coronavirus devastating commercial fishing industry

Lifelong commercial fisherman Mark Weaver had anticipated a bumper season for his family-run commercial fishery before the COVID-19 pandemic left the industry almost dead in the water. Now, he and the rest of Ontario’s commercial fishing industry are facing a bleak future that could leave them struggling just to survive. “I don’t know how we’re going to pay the bills,” Weaver said. While Lake Erie would normally be dotted with commercial fishing vessels at this time of year, their boats aren’t leaving the docks in Port Stanley, Wheatley and other Southwestern Ontario ports this spring since there’s nowhere to sell their catch. “It’s a total supply chain challenge and crisis that we’re in,” said Jane Graham, executive director of the Ontario Commercial Fisheries’ Association. April has been one of the “most productive fishing months of the year,” Graham said. And it looked like this April would have been just as productive, Weaver said. >click to read< 22:01