Taking a risk on the open sea
Recent mishaps remind fishermen of the dangers of making a living from the ocean
Jack Billard gazes off into the middle distance as he silently prods his memory for details of his closest brush with death.
The 79-year-old retired fisherman, who spent more than six decades hauling lobsters, crabs, fish and other creatures from the sea, returns to the moment and voices what he can recall of an incident that occurred when he was a teenager just starting his career on the boats.
“I can’t remember how old I was exactly, but I was out fishing with my brother Chub (Gerald) when I got my foot tangled in a line and was pulled right overboard,” says Billard, who still lives but a stone’s throw from the wharves and docks of Glace Bay harbour.
“I remember falling and grabbing the bait box and that ended up coming over the side with me and the next thing I knew my boots were filling up with water and I was getting weighed down.”
Billard pauses as it dawns on him how luckily he cheated death that day, albeit with a hand from his brother.
“I was going down and the boat was moving away, then all of a sudden Chub reached his hand out and I grabbed it … if he didn’t do that, well, I guess I wouldn’t be here today,” he says, his voice trailing off as relives the harrowing ordeal that 60 years ago he shrugged off as being part of the job.
Dangerous conditions have always been part and parcel of working in any of Cape Breton’s industrial mainstays, including the fisheries, the coal mines and Sydney’s former steel plant.
Last week, the captain of a tuna fishing charter boat died after falling overboard during an outing on the waters off the coast of Port Hood on the west coast of Cape Breton Island.
The incident claimed the life of 68-year-old Stevie MacInnis, an Arisaig-based veteran fisherman, who was well-known for his tuna catching prowess. An investigation is being conducted by Nova Scotia Labour Department’s Occupational Health and Safety Division.
On May 13, two Cape Breton fishermen died after a lobster boat capsized off the west coast of the island. Hugh Watts, the Port Hood-based captain of the Ocean Star II, and helper Glen MacDonald, 58, of Port Hawkesbury lost their lives in the tragedy, while Watts’ 18-year-old son Elijah was able to swim to safety.
More recently, two fishermen made it safely to shore after their boat became disabled in Lingan Bay during weather conditions described as extreme. With their vessel
at the mercy of the rough seas, the men abandoned the boat and fortunately made it to the base of the cliffs in Dominion.
A rescue effort was mounted, but the rough sea with their 10- to 15-foot swells forced the responders to return to Glace Bay Harbour. Afterwards, Glace Bay Volunteer Fire Department Chief John Chant told the Cape Breton Post that while things turned out great, the incident “could have been really bad.”
The dangers of working on water are well-documented. The 2000 Hollywood film “The Perfect Storm,” for example, chronicled the ill-fated adventures of the Andrea Gail that met its demise while fishing the Grand Banks during a hurricane in 1991. The boat was based out of Gloucester, a Massachusetts fishing community that has lost an estimated 10,000 men at sea since its establishment in 1623.
Jordan MacDougall, president
of the Inverness South Fishermen’s Association, said people involved in the industry are aware of the risks involved.
“Yes, it can be dangerous, and it is a lot riskier than other industries, but it’s no more dangerous than it’s always been,” said MacDougall, who admitted he was at a loss as to why there has been a recent spate of incidents.
“There’s been no real change in the danger, but it is actually safer now than it was in the
past – for one thing, we get better reports from the Internet about the weather, so it’s a little safer that way.”
While the Mi’kmaq have fished the waters of Cape Breton since time immemorial, it is believed that the Portuguese were the first Europeans to set up fishing camps on the island when they established a settlement in the Ingonish area in the 1520s.