Seals feasting on lobster bait

By Sherry Martell

FOR THE SOU’WESTER

CAPE JOHN, N.S. – Fishermen are frustrated with a growing number of harbour seals ripping bait from their lobster traps.

Cape John fisherman Sterling Heighton said the destruction of plastic mesh bait bags, placed on spikes in the traps has increased during the past two years.

“It affects our fishing. If there’s no bait in our traps we can’t catch lobster,” said Heighton.

He said last year seals were stealing food from between 50 and 100 traps a day leaving behind the ripped mesh bag used to hold the bait in place and adding additional expenses to fishermen’s operating budgets to refill the traps.

He believes the seals are reaching into the traps with their clawed-flippers and pulling out the bait used to lure lobsters inside for a feast.

“It’s been getting gradually worse for the past couple of years and this is only the first day,” he said showing a bucket with more than two-dozen ruined bags.

“If we can’t stop them we’ll have to come up with new methods to keep them out of the traps.”

(Sherry Martell is a journalist with Transcontinental Media’s The News and a contributor to the Sou’Wester.)