Tag Archives: Southwest Nova Scotia
Proposed herring quota would put lobster fishermen in a pinch for bait
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is pursuing a commercial quota on herring for areas off Southwest Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy. DFO is proposing the use of a new stock modeling process, that could see quotas slashed to 13,050 tonnes from 35,000 tonnes, a 62 per cent reduction. Commercial herring fishing operators have already voiced their opposition to those plans, including Bay of Fundy Herring Industry who in a statement proposed a compromise of lowering their quota to 25,000 tonnes from 35,000 tonnes for the 2022 season. >click to read< 19:52
Ottawa, Mi’kmaq community on collision course over plan for second lobster season
The federal fisheries minister said today that enforcement officers will be in place in St. Mary’s Bay to “uphold the Fisheries Act” if Sipekne’katik fishers harvest lobster beginning on June 1. Bernadette Jordan’s comment came shortly before Chief Mike Sack held a news conference to say his band will operate a five-month season that will occur outside of the commercial season. Sack says the plan envisions 15 to 20 boats setting 1,500 traps, with a midsummer closure during the moulting and reproduction season and its own enforcement officials. >click to read< 14:18
Chief William Saulis: Search for missing scallop dragger shifts to new areas
The RCMP says the search for five missing scallop fishermen and their boat that sank off southwest Nova Scotia has moved to new targeted areas. The Mounties say a search of areas in the Bay of Fundy identified by GPS co-ordinates and other information failed to locate the Chief William Saulis. >click to read< RCMP eliminate some potential sites of missing scallop boat – underwater recovery teams have checked several areas of the Bay of Fundy where they had indication that the missing scallop fishing boat Chief William Saulis may be located, but has determined that the targets identified were not the vessel. The recovery teams, which are from Nova Scotia and British Columbia,,, >click to read< 07:55
Safety on the Water Must Take Precedent
The year 2020 is nearly in the rearview mirror. Feel free to take a moment and let out a collective sigh of relief here. Who knows what 2021 has in store for us, but could it possibly be any more strange, troubling or unprecedented than the last 12 months? This past year will go down in history as one of the most turbulent for the fishery in Southwest Nova Scotia. Not only was the industry rocked by the global impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the self-regulated, moderate livelihood lobster fishery by First Nations led to protests, disputes and dissention across the breadth of the Nova Scotia fishing community. >click to read< 08:45
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
Dumping Day Weather Delay in Southwest Nova Scotia
Dumping day traditionally takes place on the last Monday of November, weather permitting. This year the weather will not permit that to happen. Years ago, DFO and the LFA 34 industry advisory committee put in place an opening day protocol that dictates any winds forecasted above 25 knots will automatically trigger a postponement,, In LFA 33 on the province’s south shore boats will also stay ashore Monday. As an LFA 34 industry conference call was underway Saturday morning, a gale warning for the region,, >click to read< 15:56
Early reports suggest steep decline in lobster catch in southwest N.S.
The lobster fishery in southwest Nova Scotia is only into the second week of its season, but already fishermen are finding a decreased haul compared to last year. Lobster fishing areas 33 and 34 are the most lucrative in the province, with overall exports of nearly a billion dollars last year. But the federal Fisheries Department said preliminary reports from fishermen suggest the catch has declined significantly. >click to read<16:46
Lobster season off southwest Nova Scotia postponed again due to bad weather
The federal Fisheries Department confirmed today that industry representatives from Lobster Fishing Area 33, which extends from Halifax to the southwestern tip of the province, have decided to open their season on Saturday at 7 a.m. About 700 fishing boats are expected to dump their traps that day, unless the weather again turns foul. In Lobster Fishing Area 34, which includes 970 boats that work the waters off the province’s western edge, fishermen and federal officials decided today to put off their final decision until a conference call is held Thursday morning. >click to read<17:31
N.S. lobster fishermen protesting outside DFO offices against illegal poaching
Hundreds of fishermen are expected to spend Thursday protesting outside Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) offices in southwest Nova Scotia in an effort to draw attention to problems they see with the lobster industry. “This is a peaceful protest,” said Matthew Theriault, a spokesperson for the fishermen. By 8 a.m., about 80 lobster fishermen had gathered outside the DFO office in Digby, N.S. Theriault alleges fishing is still taking place, despite the fact the lobster season for Southwest Nova closed on June 1. “There’s people…on the water and they’re fishing. The season is closed for commercial lobstermen,” said Theriault. click here to read the story 12:18
Lobster fishermen in Yarmouth County continue to draw attention to concern over illegal lobster sales – click here for photo’s, article 14:25
Op-Ed: Something fishy is going on in the Bay of Fundy
If you thought the massive fish and marine animal die-off that took place in Nova Scotia back in December is all cleared up, you’re dead wrong. There have been two more die-offs, but these latest ones are different because they are being caused by man. Besides the massive kill that took place in December that encompassed an area from Annapolis to Yarmouth, there was the mutilated fish brought up in gill nets earlier this month in the Minas Basin area. Now everyone is looking at Nova Scotia Power (NSP) as being the culprit in these latest fish kills. click here to read the story 20:02
Lobster Fishermen Reminded of Safety as Season Starts
Lobster fishermen in southwest Nova Scotia are reminded to stay safe as they launch the start of their season Monday, Nov. 30. “Fishermen have led the change to improve safety across the fishing industry with more man-overboard training and an increased use of personal flotation devices,” said Kelly Regan, Nova Scotia Minister of Labour and Advanced Education. “I urge all fishermen to continue with the great progress they’ve made, and keep safety a priority as they head out,,, Read the article here 19:54
Buyers Say No: “The lobster levy is dead in Southwest Nova Scotia, absolutely, no question about it,”
A “unanimous no” vote this week has put the future of a Maritime-wide lobster marketing levy in doubt. The levy would take one cent per pound from fishermen and another cent per pound from buyers to pay for a generic marketing campaign run by the industry.In Nova Scotia, the levy would raise $1.8 million annually from fishermen. Terry Zinck, a lobster buyer in Clarks Harbour, was at the Tuesday vote that included most South Shore buyers. Read the rest here 12:42
