Inverness fishermen initiate blockade in battle for crab

By Doug MacKenzie

FOR THE SOU’WESTER

Cape Breton fishermen continued to blockade four New Brunswick fishing boats in the harbour on Friday, May 16 in protest of their lack of share in the crab fishery.

“Things are going great,” said Inverness fisherman Lawrence MacLellan. “We’re hearing rumours we might be able to talk to the fisheries minister, we’re making headway, everybody’s behind us and we hear there are Mabou boats and Port Hood boats coming down and they are supporting us 100 per cent.”

The four New Brunswick boats were in Inverness with permits to fish crab, a right not afforded to the Inverness fishermen.

“We’ve tried every avenue for years to get crab permits,” said MacLellan, who estimated the out of province boats would take 500,000 pounds of crab back to New Brunswick. “I think it was eight years ago Margaree harbour to Bay St. Lawrence were given their access and were given a four-trap permit and we’ve been left waiting. We’re the last four harbours (Inverness, Mabou, Port Hood and Judique), the last four communities in Cape Breton without a crab allocation.

“We understand we’re not going to get a 70,000-pound licence, that’s not on the books, but we want the little permit.”

MacLellan explained local fishermen hoped to get a four-trap permit allowing them to fish approximately 8,000 pounds of crab as a way of supplementing their livelihoods.

Despite being forced to tie up, the New Brunswick fisherman understand the reasoning behind the actions of their Inverness counterparts.

“It’s not what we had planned and we didn’t know the politics of it,” said Lee Straight, adding some of the crewmembers had gone home to be with family while awaiting a resolution to the conflict. “We’re stopped I guess for a couple of days and there is nothing we can do. We won’t cross the boats, we won’t go out through them. We don’t agree with the way they’re doing it, but we agree with what they are after.

“There are no hard feelings. We understand what is taking place and our boats are safe.”

Straight explained the New Brunswick boats were sub-contracted to fish the quota for the New Brunswick inshore fishermen who total 144.

“So much goes to pay for the boats, it goes to our health insurance, our fishermen’s plan and the rest goes to lobster rationalization,” said Straight. “The (fishermen) here who had their names drawn to come, they don’t fish lobsters this fall, they have to give up their lobster fishery for one year.”

MacLellan agreed that everyone has been getting along well considering the situation, but he feels this was the only route available to best preserve the interests of Inverness and he was quick to point to the closed fish plant on a hill overlooking the harbour to emphasize the effect on the community.

“The fish plant processed crab last year and they aren’t this year and that has left 20 to 30 people out of work,” said MacLellan. “You don’t go to New Brunswick and take a job away from someone up there when they’re not working so it’s a hard pill to swallow.

“This day and age we shouldn’t have to burn boats and cause a big ruckus, but it seems like the way to do it. The squeaky wheel gets the oil, but we’re doing it in a diplomatic way and we’re doing a peaceful protest and that’s the way we want things to happen.”

(Doug MacKenzie is a journalist with Transcontinental Media’s Cape Breton Post, which is a contributor to the Sou’Wester.)