Tribute to lobster traps
Homeville man’s work can be seen throughout community
Port Morien’s proud coal mining heritage can be traced back to the first coal mine in Canada in 1720, but it is likely that mining was not the community’s first industry.
As far back as the 1500s, the French, Portuguese and Basque fished off Cape Breton; returning to their home countries each winter. It is quite possible that Port Morien was one of their seasonal fishing stations.
Commercial fishing in Port Morien can be traced back to the 1850s. Cod, haddock, mackerel, herring and numerous other species were fished until the collapse of the groundfish stocks in the early 1990s.
Lobster became the mainstay of the local fishery, and in the past few years, has been quite lucrative. This is in stark contrast to the days at the turn of the 20th century when local canneries offered four cents a pound.
The equipment used for lobster fishing has evolved over the years. Traps are a good example.
For decades, fishermen built their own wooden traps each winter, cutting the tree boughs and shaping them over an open fire. They got their ballast from flat rocks on the shoreline and knitted their own headings.
In the past number of years, some have opted to replace these traditional rounded wooden traps with the rectangular wire cage design. Because of this and some wooden traps becoming damaged or unusable, fishermen had a stockpile of older style traps in their back yards destined for a fire pit or the landfill.
Homeville resident and community volunteer Bill Meadows saw this as an opportunity.
He approached fishermen Donald and his son David Ferguson, two friends who lived close by, to ask if they would be willing to donate some traps.
Donald Ferguson knows about traps. He has been making them since he was a youngster, and now in his 90s, he still fishes lobster each season.
Meadows felt that the traps could easily be transformed into planters, trellises, street address signs, and patio trays, among other things. The Fergusons were happy to assist and Meadows was on his way to making some trap crafts to give to friends.
Meadows wasn’t finished yet. While travelling through St. Peter’s, he noticed that bicycles were attached to light poles. They were spray painted and adorned with flowers. He had the idea of doing something similar in Port Morien with the lobster traps.
He asked good friends Bucky MacLeod and Richard Jerrott to come onboard and they were pleased to help.
The Fergusons offered to donate more traps as well as plywood and some tools. The trio worked through the winter on the project, coping with COVID-19 restrictions after midMarch. The project was completed by late June.
The Port Morien Development Association, with Yvonne Kennedy as liaison, covered expenses for materials that had to be purchased, such as the metal lobsters.
Altogether, they produced three trap sets, each consisting of three per set, 16 traps with attached steel lobsters, and 28 trap ends with plywood cut-outs of boats or lobsters. They are painted in various colours. They also made brackets for installation.
Installation on the heritage light standards took place on July 1.
Meadows, MacLeod and Jerrott were assisted in the task by volunteers Calvin Thomas, Katie O’Leary and Craig Thiel.
The trap sets were placed at the fire hall, the post office and at the legion. The legion one in particular has an impressive backdrop of Morien Bay. The other traps and trap ends were alternately attached to the standards throughout the village.
The result is an impressive display that celebrates our centuries-old Port Morien fishing heritage.
It was truly a community project, from the donation of materials to the construction of the components to the installation.
Besides beautifying the main street of the community, the project gives an emotional lift to all of us who are living with COVID-19 restrictions.
Meadows said that if he were asked to give the project a title, it would be “A tribute to lobster fishing and to the people who handcrafted the lobster traps in the community over many decades.”
It is a fitting title and a fitting tribute indeed.