A lovely spring day brought us to Malpeque on the north shore of central Prince Edward Island where the boat basin was a busy spot. The basin still has ice and though the lobster season in the area begins on April 29th, boats won’t be in the water for another few days. Most are stored in the yards of the fishers’ homes, though not all homes look like this one.
Meanwhile, the work has begun, as fishers prepare their gear such as traps for the busy season ahead.
We spoke with two fishermen there. One had purchased his fishing license many years ago for $120,000. Now the same licence goes for $7,000,000. He is retired from other work but continues to pursue lobsters every season for the two months this lucrative fishery is open.
Meanwhile, another man told us he still uses thirty-six of the old style lobster traps, the traditional ones with the curved design. The newer traps, a rectangular design, stack better on the boat. He had purchased fifty of the new ones recently, at a cost of $9,000 to replace some which had been damaged or lost.
We talked about Newfoundland and the cod fishery pursued by my grandfather out of Petty Harbour. He had used hand lines, with hooks baited with squid. Fishermen caught squid the evening before they left the harbour at daylight. Such a fishery was sustainable. Later, fishing trawlers, also known as daggers, larger vessels pulling nets behind them over the cod’s spawning grounds, destroyed the cod fishery which has been closed for over thirty years.
A sustainable fishery is the goal. However, warming sea water will affect fish and shellfish in this area. Last September, hurricane Fiona didn’t lose as much strength as normally happened when such systems passed over the colder waters of eastern Canada. Warm water feeds such a system. This past winter, the sea on the north shore of Prince Edward Island did not freeze. While the basin at Malpeque froze, the coastline didn’t. I fear hurricane season this year.
However, seasonal activity continues as daylight lengthens, winter snow melts, sea ice in the bay at Summerside moves with the wind and snow continues to fall occasionally. Undeterred by the tardiness of spring around here though, migrating birds are returning, such as the Great Blue Herons near Malpeque that day. It is spring on Canada’s east coast.
43 comments:
The insane cost of the fishing license makes me wonder how much these fishermen are making. It must be a lot!
It's a changing world alright. Not for the better, either.
Interesting information about how the cod fishery disappeared, and more. I also love that heron picture! :-)
Interesting comments on cod fishing. I remember when North Sea fishing was sustainable, before massive trawlers almost wiped out the cod population, along with other species caught up. New regs are trying to restore it.
I've never seen such a crowd of great blue herons. Here they're often solitary.
Very interesting information . Oh my! To see so many Great Blue Herons in one spot.
I love the herons and also the coming of the season. I am astounded by the licensing costs
Unreal - Both For Them AND The Ocean - Amazing Photos My Dear
Well Done ,
Cheers
Wonderful photos. The boats appear to be snuggling near the lighthouse. The lobster license fee is outrageous! That is a shock to read. It feels unfair to folks that might want to have a small business practicing a local tradition.
the price of the license seems astronomical, but, i guess it must be worth it!! the new traps you pictured do seem to make more sense, they seem smaller...i wonder if they hold as many lobster!! it must be a big business based on the information you shared!!
what an awesome capture of the herons!!
I too am astounded by the cost of licenses now..How can they stay in business?
So sad what the hurricanes have done to your coast and industries.
Amazing to see so many herons in one place.
Love the photos of the lobster traps.
Sue
Lovely post and I am sure the rectangular traps are so much easier to stack!
We are back home at last and I will be catching when I have time.
Take care cheers Diane
Wow, not many people could afford the fishing license price. I imagine the license gets passed down to the next generation in the family.
I am glad that spring is making her slow way in.
Those licensing costs are incredible. The traps don't come cheap either.
Those lobster pots certainly mean spring to me, as do five Great Blue Herons!
we certainly have some major weather changes. I don't like it but many people are not getting the message about climate change.
I grip when I bought fishing license for like $12. I'm sure it more now.
Coffee is on and stay safe.
The Blue Cranes may have arrived but they appear to be really feeling the cold temperatures that you still have.
The cost of the license is reflected in the cost of lobster.
Enjoy the unfurling of spring.
Wonder if the curved catches better than the other or vice versa? I am trying to get somethings done around the house, in and out while the temps are good and there is no rain...while the body holds out. Right now, its amazing outside, I don't work this week and I love playing around in the pots and plants. Love your tours...thanks.
Loving the curved herons. I can only find them here, and the biterns as well, if they have the neck extended over the bulrushes. And the dratted biterns (or does that have two 't's?) look like a bulrush. We had a heron rookery for years on our property, nests built in trees that had drowned in the beaver pond, but the last big windstorm took all but one of the trees out, and now we only have two nests. We used to be able to hear the chicks chattering in the evenings when the air was still.
Talk about weather events in the warming age - AC has some fine ice storm aftermath photos.
Very interesting information. Actually, I know nothing about fishing. How do these traps for fish work?
Margi,
The traps are weighted down with concrete blocks when they are put in the water. They drop to the ocean floor where lobsters live. The traps are baited, traditionally with mackerel, which attracts lobster to the traps. They enter the traps and can’t get out.
Marie
Very interesting conversation with the fisherman. He'll have won a lottery when he sells his license.
The herons are stunning! What a lovely photo.
Spring has sprung.
I liked this information because I couldn’t help but to compare it with the lobster industry in Maine. Times have surely changed since I was a kid growing up on the Island. However, lobstering is still the major occupation in the area. My father and older brother were lobster fishermen and their licenses were easy to obtain and inexpensive in the 1950s and 60s.But now they are passed from generation to generation and if it is not renewed yearly you can’t get another one. New ones for new fishermen have a lot of restrictions and eligibility requirements and only so many are available each year in Maine.
It is wonderful to be able to follow the lives of fishermen and seabirds. When the fishing boats go out there is a bit of romance, even if it's hard work!
Maybe the license to fish can be passed on to the son - Of course also the daughter :-)) ... I can think of the film "Sving Grace" from the year 2000, you have to see it if you haven't seen it yet.
I wish you a wonderful time. Greetings to you from Viola
,,,Thank you for your great photos.
Sustainable fishing practices have withstood the test of time, so it is such a shame when greed results in the decimation of a particular species. We have a lot of similar problems here.
Sustainable fishing practices are the goal here, too, on the West Coast. Unfortunately, there are other countries who do not practice sustainability, and everyone suffers for it. I can't believe the price of the fishing licence!
We will be in the Maritimes during Hurricane season this year and I confess to being a bit apprehensive about it. At least there is usually lots of warning to prepare and get out of the way.
A very interesting post, Marie. The curved lobster traps are much prettier than the rectangles, I think.
Always things to see and photograph next to the ocean. Love that group of herons.
Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
Hello,
Wow, the cost of a fishing license is crazy. Love the photo of the lighthouse and the Herons. Yay for the Spring weather. Take care , have a great day!
The amount of money spent by these fisheries/fishermen, Marie, blows my mind! I know it's a tough, rough livelihood that most of us can't imagine, apart from images we've seen or stories we've heard. You're so close to it all. I know you could write a book, with all your accompanying, fabulous photos!
Sad that we often lack foresight with regard to sustainability. I heard we (on the West Coast) will have no salmon fishing season this year due to a large population decline. Is that first photo a house? It's beautiful. You could go up and relax in your very own light tower!
The subject of your post is vey interesting: fishing licences, traps (curves and rectangular), the way traps are baited with mackerel, etc..
The Great Blue Herons are a lovely interlude within the lobster fishery subject!
Spare Parts and Pics,
As far as I can determine, that building was a lighthouse which was moved to that site. It is someone’s house now.
Marie
I don't think I'll be buying a fishing licence any time soon, Marie. Great shot of that group of herons.
Wow, who can afford that license fee, and if you can I wonder how quickly you can make that amount back!! Wonderful images. Nice to visit your blog again.
You'd have to catch an awful lot of lobsters to pay for that license. There's constant controversy here too about the fishing in the North Sea.
I was so amazed to hear that a fishing license is so costly!! Your photos are exquisite and inteeresting.
I had no idea the licenses were so expensive.
Always learning...
: )
For whatever reason, and I really don’t know that reason, I have a particular liking for lobster traps. These are wonderful photos! I really enjoyed them. You are so fortunate to be able to live in such a scenic area.
thanks for the interesting knowledge about the fishery ,enjoyed knowing how things work in fishing field
these are amazing shots indeed
Friends sold their boat, inventory and licenses about 7 yrs ago for almost $800,000 , in Nova Scotia. When they worked Lobstering the cost per pound differed each season. One yr they got $7 a pound and would bring in upwards of 300lb a day. I think last yr it was high. Barb
Hi Marie, I found this to be a fascinating post. Thank you for all the info on lobster fishing. I’m guessing that a lobster fishing license must be targeted not at an individual fisherman, but at a business that will have many boats out working the traps. Otherwise, I just don’t see how an individual could afford a $7M license fee, unless they inherited a bunch of money or won the lottery. And to think the “season” is only 2 months long. Interesting pictures and post. Thank you for sharing. John
I'm reading your blogs from latest to last and I love that they pass down the licence. The cost, wow, I cannot wrap my head around either of those prices. Though the second one is far worse. Ack!
Even the traps. I tell you, the cost of doing business is sometimes, yikes!
Snow last week though all gone. Heat on again today. Burrr.
Wishing you a wonderful new week ahead.
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