Tale of teenage lobster fisherman.
A day in the life of a Cape Breton teenage lobster fisher
NEW WATERFORD — Cape Breton teenager Nate Boone’s days start early — really early.
“When I go fishing, I normally wake up at around three in the morning, and I like to be down here (at the wharf) around 4 a.m. to go fishing for about seven to eight hours,” said Boone.
The 13-year-old, who is finishing Grade 8, then heads home to get schoolwork done or catch up on sleep, depending on the day.
FOUR GENERATIONS
Boone is the fourth generation of lobster fishers in his family and began working on his grandfather’s boat, Makin’ Do, out of New Waterford harbour this season.
“This is my first year actually working on the boat. I went out last year for setting day, just to help, but this year I actually went out and worked for a week,” he said.
His grandfather, Willie Cadden, has been fishing lobster for about 45 years.
“He knows how the whole (fishing) operation works now and he seems to like it,” said Cadden.
During a recent conversation, Boone launched into a detailed explanation of how the lobster fishing process works, from setting the lobster traps to hauling them back in a day later.
“On May 15 every year on setting day, what we do is we take the traps down from a trailer and take them down (to the wharf) and we take the bait, and we crack it in half (it’s already frozen), then put it on a stick inside the lobster trap,” said Boone.
Once they throw the traps in the ocean on setting day, every day after (besides Sunday) is a hauling day.
“We open up the hatch and the (live) lobsters will be in there. We’ll take them out and if they’re too small, we’ll throw them in the ocean and if they’re big enough, we’ll take them over here for banding,” he said.
Boone described the average size of the lobsters they take and demonstrated the correct way to band a lobster to avoid getting snapped by the claws.
“It’s pretty interesting. Sometimes we get (lobsters) that have one big claw, sometimes they have two little ones. Sometimes they have two big claws, so you have to be quick to band them.”
BALANCING ACT
Boone said working with his grandfather has been a very interesting experience.
“I got to see what the value of hard work was, and also doing schoolwork at the same time. Although it’s been a little stressful going back into the school routine, I managed to get it all done.”
The teen said he was fishing “non-stop” his first week on the water, but first squared away with his teachers and caught up with schoolwork over the next few weeks.
“It’s taught me how to balance things out and how to wake up early and how to work hard,” said Boone.
He can see himself continuing fishing lobster as a side job in the future, though he dreams of working in the law.
“I could see myself as a public speaker or something in the government, but my dream job right now is (being) a lawyer. It has been for the past two or three years.”
Boone enjoys banding the lobster claws, but his favourite part of fishing on Makin’ Do is the sights it enables him to see.
“My favourite things to see on the boat would have to be the sunsets and the stars at the same time,” he said, waving his hand across the sky. “It’s really a gorgeous sight.”