Safe opening to lobster fishery in southwest N.S. but harsh weather followed during week one

BARRINGTON, N.S. — The weather was wild and woolly for the first week of the lobster season in southwestern Nova Scotia.
After a one-day weather delay to the start of the season, fishermen headed to sea to dump their traps on Nov. 26 in good conditions, followed by a slicker for the first hauling day. 
It was all down hill after that, with gale force winds prevailing for the rest of the week, keeping much of the fleet ashore.  
“They got out the one day and that was it,” said Mike Cotter, owner of Cotter Ocean Products Inc. in Lockeport. “They had a good setting day and an excellent hauling day. They probably won’t get out again until Sunday.”
But the weather didn’t keep everyone ashore. There were boats that still went out in LFAs 34 and 33, despite harsh conditions. 
The first days’ landings were positive in terms of catches and quality, said Cotter. Catches by “the inside boats were phenomenal, way, way better than last year,” he said.
“The middle ground boats were about the same as last year which is good,” Cotter said. “The price opened at $8 which is a good price. I think everybody is happy.”
Safety-wise all went well with the season opening, said Lt. Commander Brian Owens, spokesman for the Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) in Halifax.
Calls received were minimal in nature, said Owen. 
“On the first day there were seven cases. Five were reported they were having engineering and mechanical issues. Some required a little bit of assistance but most were able to return to the fishery.”
Another case involved a vessel taking on water, but they were able to fix the issue on board and return to fishing, said Owen.
A boat did sink near the Saulnierville wharf dumping day evening, said Owen, but the JRCC was not directly involved. 
“Everything had been sorted out by the time we got there or at least the individuals had gotten out of the boat,” he said.
Six calls for assistance were received on Nov. 27. Most were mechanical in nature as well as requiring some towing back to port. There were also several accidental activations of EPIRBs (emergency position-indicating radio beacons) during the week.
“All in all, a minimal amount of cases we’ve been called about (have been) fairly straightforward in the response," said Owen, adding the numbers are consistent with the statistics from the past few years.
“We’ve been seeing a low number of calls for the last three years,” he added. “The fishing industry has done a great job in educating the fishers in the right way to do things, checking their gear, checking their equipment and knowing safety procedures.”
There are 1,662 lobster licences combined in Lobster Fishing Areas (LFA) 33 and 34, according to the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. LFA 33 extends from Eastern Passage to Baccaro, Shelburne County. LFA 34 encompasses from Baccaro to Burns Point, Digby County. 
Preliminary figures show the total landed value was down during the 2018-2019 season, coming in at $498.2 million, compared to approximately $502 million the previous season. The breakdown by fishing area was 8,724 tonnes landed in LFA 33 for a landed value $152.1 million and 19,610 tonnes landed in LFA 34 (southwestern Nova Scotia) for $346.5 million in landed value.