A Sea of Death and Destruction

"Come Follow Me" Jesus said, "An I Will Make You Fishers Of Men."

The fishing seas has been a hard one for the traditional tradesmen of the Magdalen Islands. The season's first catch was on May 9th, 2011, a week later than anywhere else on the east coast of Canada. The Magdalen Islands fishermen missed the valuable Mother's Day Weekend, which undoubtedly made a huge dent in their seasonal sales.

The lobster count is down overall from last year. The price per pound at the wharf is poor particularly since the other provinces had time to saturate the market before Magdalen Islands lobster arrived. It didn't help that Newfoundland sold over a million pounds of lobster at $3,65/pound last week and drove the price even lower. And then there is the wind.....

It hasn't stopped blowing 30 to 40 kilometers/hour and occasionally above from the northeast since the season began. The experienced fishermen are suffering from aches and pains in their legs and backs as the boats are hitting down hard on the sea after each choppy wave. Yesterday was no exception....

We lost a fisherman yesterday in Etang-du-Nord. Donald Bourgeois fell overboard and drown. They recovered his body because he floated to the surface immediately (perhaps he had the regulatory life jacket on) and an autopsy will be done to determine if the fall was related to an unknown medical condition or if it was purely accidental. The islanders sympathies go out to his family and friends.

We also lost a fishing boat yesterday. The waves were sufficiently high or strong to capsize the boat with a crew of three fishermen. The men were saved by the crew of a near-by fishing vessel, but it gives a strong idea of just how bad the conditions on the sea are just now. It is not so bad to keep the boats in the harbours but it is bad enough to make it dangerous on the sea or at the very least very uncomfortable.

Rest in Peace Donald Bourgeois!

This is a repeat of  the Magdalen Islands Online article Fishing 2011 aux Iles de la Madeleine