Back to the sea

Fishers are back at sea again since the lobster season opened earlier this week on Prince Edward Island.

Prior to the start of the season, boats are returned to the water, traps and other gear readied. In addition, dredging of the waterways occurs since the sand around the island shifts over the winter and can pose a hazard to the boats.

At Seacow Pond on the northwest corner of the island, this was the scene last week as boats and gear were prepared for the season. 

Boats lined the pond and along the wharf, by each boat, its gear was piled, ready for loading on the big day.

It was interesting to be close enough to see the weight in each trap, which causes it to sink in the water. 

The buoy which is the marker for each trap has a weight as well which keeps the buoy upright in the water. The weights on PEI are concrete, made by the fishers.

On Setting Day, the opening of the season, fishers load the gear and head out to the fishing ground as their families gather along the shoreline to wish them a safe and successful season.

Last week in a nearby inlet, we saw a dredger which was pulled ashore,

allowing us to see the cutter head which bores into the seabed. 

The sand is sucked through the dredger and ejected away from the shipping channel. With the weather co-operating, the dredging done and gear and boats ready, Setting Day was Tuesday.

That day on the northwest coast, we had our picnic lunch in the yard of Christ Church at Kildare Capes, a peaceful setting along the coastline. There is a stained glass window at the back of the church with the words, “Peace be still,” whilst Jesus stands in a boat amid stormy seas. It is a reminder of the danger of working at sea and the faith of many people on the island. 

Meanwhile, as is the tradition with many island families, we are having our first lobster of the season for Mother’s Day this Sunday. Even the children enjoy a meal of lobster. It is a part of island culture which our family enjoys.

Favourites

We were the only car in the parking lot at Cavendish Grove with only one car parked at the Beach. Early morning on a sunny day in the national park on Prince Edward Island, the only sound came from the birds and the sea. The sky and sea were a perfect backdrop.

While cycling the parkway, it is easy for my husband and I to be distracted by the coastline. The breaking waves and the red coast anchor the blues. We watch for several minutes each time we stop.

Sometimes, looking directly out to sea, evergreens are the anchor.

Other times, blues are muted by the sun.

On setting day as we cycled along, we could hear the fishing boats off shore, the sound carried on the wind. A few were close enough for photos as they set the traps that first day of the lobster season. Photos of working fishers are among my favourites.

Fishers of the feathered kind float on MacNeills Pond. That hook at the end of the beak is handy for fishing.

The old fence behind the dunes at Cavendish Beach and the weathered trees are highlighted by the sky.

A new walkway to the beach blends with the dunes and vegetation. 

Every time we are at the park, new favourites greet us.

Setting day

Friday past was Setting Day on Prince Edward Island, the day when the lobster traps are set for the first part of the lobster season. In the island tradition, family and friends gather at day break around the wharf and along the shoreline to see the fishers off this first day. This year was different. People were encouraged to stay home because of Covid precautions.

The last several years, my husband and I have gone to the shoreline early in the morning at Cabot Beach and watched as the boats left Malpeque Harbour. 

                                                                  Setting Day 2019

The boats were low in the water, filled with as many traps as they could carry while families waved them on.

                                        Boats loaded with lobster traps, Setting Day 2019

Boats returned to port to load up again to finish the job.

Setting Day this year was a beautiful sunny day with a slight breeze so my husband and I, mid morning instead of day break, went to the beach on the north shore near Brander’s Pond. A walk on the beach was in order.

Fortunately, fishers in one fishing boat were busy setting their traps just off shore and we watched other boats in the distance. 

We walked, had a leisurely picnic and watched the fishers hard at work.

Later, we visited New London and watched the boats move up the channel back to port. 

We saw one headed out again with the last of its traps. 

While we didn’t see the loaded boats leaving port encouraged by the crowd, we did enjoy Setting Day nonetheless. Lobster will be on the menu this week for sure.

Setting day 2019

We drove towards dawn last Friday morning 

as my husband and I headed to Malpeque for Setting Day, the first day of the lobster season for 2019. When we arrived at the port, the majority of the lobster boats had already left, loaded with the traps to drop into the sea. Several boats remained and were ready to leave, so we walked to Cabot Beach, along the trail through the dunes to watch the boats navigate the channel as they head to sea. The sun crept above the horizon as we approached the beach.

The trail parallels part of the channel and one of the boats motored past into the sun’s glow as we watched. 

We hurried along the trail to see the boat as it passed Cabot Beach. 

A band of clouds periodically covered the sun which was like a giant spotlight when it broke through the cloud cover. 

Other times when the sun was behind the clouds, everything was covered in a giant shadow.

Boats were mere meters off Cabot Beach and we watched as they manoeuvred the channel, eager to reach open water. 

In the distance, from another port in the west, other boats sped to reach the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

 We could see a dozen or more boats along the horizon.

By the time the last of the lobster boats had left Malpeque, the first returned to load more traps and head out again. 

Each boat can have up to three hundred traps, which requires at least two trips for the 45 foot/14 meter boats. 

I watched as the returning crew baited traps with herring before they lifted them aboard. 

They were fast and efficient at their work, keen to accomplish the job for the day. This wharf will be busy over the next two months as lobsters are lured out of their rocky holes and crevices by these herring-baited traps. 

Fresh lobster was available on Saturday. Our first meal is on Mother’s Day. Our granddaughters, six and eight, have eaten lobster since they were the age of their two year old brother. Now they eat a whole lobster each. Their brother tried it last year and enjoyed it. I imagine he too will be eating a whole lobster before long. It is a seafood treat and a great tradition.

Setting day

Island tradition was the cause of our 4:30 a.m. rise, but the fog was discouraging. While we don't get much fog, having it on this day was disappointing. We decided to go anyway.

As we drove to Malpeque, the fog lifted. By the time we arrived, the fog bank was visible off-shore but the basin was clear. 

 

                                      Pillar buoy visible above the fog

It was setting day, the day when the lobster traps are set in place for another season on the north shore of Prince Edward Island. On this day, over one thousand boats left various ports on the north shore loaded with traps.

 

This first day is a big occasion for lobster fishers, with family and others watching as the boats head out, loaded with the baited traps. Some watched from the wharf area as the boats pulled away. 

 

Others waited on Cabot Beach as the boats headed into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

 

The proceedings are under the watchful eye of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Fishery officers, present in the basin, checked the traps on-board to ensure fishers do not exceed trap limits. 

 

Traps over the limit were left on the wharf. The officers then followed the boats into the Gulf.

 

                                     Baited traps left on the wharf

Captains maneuvered through the marked channel in the basin. Family members waved and cheered as their fishers motored past. 

 

Even the family dog came along for some fun on the beach.

 

Each boat, in turn, navigated the channel. 

 

The water was rougher than we expected but the boats, though low in the water, 

 

quickly disappeared into the fog off-shore.

 

We could hear them in the distance. The first lobster of the season will be available this week.