Articles
Crab fishermen vote to end strike
The Newfoundland/Labrador crab fishermen’s strike is over and as of May 20, boats were heading out to sea. In their vote, however, the fishermen made it clear that they will not accept the production quota system laid down by provincial Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Trevor Taylor. Approximately 4,600 fishermen voted 73.6 percent to go fishing
Offshore Newfoundland cod are still “doing very, very poorly”
Offshore cod stocks off Newfoundland are “doing very, very poorly,” according to George Lilly, fisheries ecologist for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, but they are not “in peril,” as had been reported. “Those were not my words,” Lilly said from his office in St John’s, Newfoundland, “but the situation, obviously, is serious, as it has been
Newfoundland crabbers strike over production quotas
Newfoundland fishermen’s anger at the provincial government’s decision to change the crab production quota system has resulted in a strike, demonstrations and a one-day blockade of oil tankers trying to enter Placentia Bay. Early in March, provincial Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Trevor Taylor announced a new raw material shares (RMS) system for the crab fishery
Famed Nova Scotia Shipyard to close
A significant chapter of Canada’s seafaring history ended in March with the announcement that the Smith & Rhuland shipyard in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, will close. The yard was most famous for building the legendary fishing schooner BLUENOSE, which dominated American competition at the International Fishermen’s Races held during the 1920s. The yard also built the
Deer Island ferry service is “erratic”
The only way that Deer Islanders who don’t own their own boats can travel to mainland New Brunswick and the rest of Canada is by ferry. Islanders are not at present stranded, but for some time now the provincial ferry service has been, at best, erratic. “People are getting pretty disgusted,” says Capt. Stan Lord,
Quota plan angers Newfoundland crabbers
Newfoundland/Labrador crab fishermen are at loggerheads with provincial Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Trevor Taylor over a raw material shares (RMS) system for the crab fishery that’s being tried on a two-year pilot basis. Saying that the outlook for the 2005 crab fishery is “weak,” Taylor said he was taking the step “to act in the
Canadian fishermen worried about new safety rules
Transport Canada has announced plans to update the Canada Shipping Act to “promote the safety and economic performance of the marine industry,” including fishing vessels. But fishermen all across Atlantic Canada maintain that the new provisions are short on common sense and long on cost — to the fishermen. The update includes “improvements to provisions
Nova Scotia haddock look strong; cod still need help
Milton d’Eon has been fishing out of West Pubnico, Nova Scotia, for “between 15 and 20 years,” and he says he’s never seen anything like it. “Fifteen, 20 years ago it used to be all cod and no haddock,” d’Eon says. “Now it’s got turned all around, less and less cod and more and more
Tool
Bantam Books 274 pp, $22.00 ($30.00 Canadian) Eastport’s Tiptree is on the case again It’s some measure of Sarah Graves’s pace that only a few pages into Tool & Die, along with Eastport sleuth Jacobia Tiptree, we find ourselves in Lubec confronting a dead man. And we quickly learn that his death was caused by
Fish plant closings darken Atlantic Canada’s holidays
The final two months of 2004 saw fish processing plant closings in Atlantic Canada, ranging from Grand Manan in New Brunswick to Harbour Breton and Fortune in Newfoundland. On Grand Manan, Connors Bros. announced in December the closing of its sardine plant, putting 162 people out of work, according to plant manager Dave Green. In