Fishermen arrange for underwater video

The men have contracted the use of a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV), which will gather video footage of several areas. The group has close to $10,000 to work with.

Local fishermen, businesses, and the Lobster Fishing Area 34 management board are chipping in towards the cause in addition to $1,000 from the Municipality of Barrington.

Kevin Ross, area rep for Stoney Island, South Side and Clam Point on Cape Sable Island was contacted en route to Halifax where the men arranged for rental of the camera.

“We’re going to try to get where they towed and got lobsters. We had reports of boats that got 80 to as high as 240 lobsters to a tow,” he said.

The camera will also be used for a few days in St. Mary’s Bay (Area 28) to examine what damage has been done.

Department of Fisheries and Oceans crustacean technician Cheryl Frail will be participating in the ROV survey as an observer.

The fishermen were granted permission to set 50 traps in Scallop Fishing Area 29 last Wednesday and haul them the next day.

Frail said she would be aboard the vessel as the traps were hauled and would be collecting biological information on the lobsters caught.

“They will be reset a few times over the next week to 10 days in a variety of areas,” said Frail.

The ROV was scheduled to arrive last Saturday in Cape Sable Island and the survey is to be conducted over the 3-4 days following, weather permitting.

Ross says he hopes their findings will prove what lobster fishermen already suspect.

“There’s been no storms so if we can catch (damaged) lobster, how are they going to be able to blame it on the storm this year?

“We’re doing this for all the communities around here because everybody knows, when lobster fishing is gone, this place is going to be a ghost town,” he said.

Lobster Fishing Area 34 lobster fishermen and Scallop Fishing Area 29 scallop fishermen support use of the camera.

The Municipality of Barrington has requested it be provided with a copy of the video footage for their files.