The Deadly Sea

by Jim Wellman

  However, where most people could only see an impossible business environment, Gilbert Simms saw opportunity. Gear was selling at very low prices because farmers were desperate to make anything they could salvage from their dying enterprises, and as Gilbert’s good friend and mussel farmer, Lloyd Fudge from Brighton, pointed out, the industry had no place to go but up.

  Knowing that it would take three long years before he would have a single pound of product to sell, Gilbert rolled up his sleeves and worked twelve to fourteen hours a day, six or seven days a week, determined to be successful. The former woodsman, who also fished crab for a couple of years in the early 1980s, was not afraid of hard work. He’d never done work at a nine-to-five job, and although his new venture would demand more work than anything he had ever done before, the satisfaction of working to grow his own business was different—it was invigorating.

  Gilbert got a bit of a break in the three years that his product was growing to commercial size and quality. His instinct back in 2004 was correct and the market improved, and when his first 200,000 pounds of mussels were ready for harvest in 2007, prices had firmed up to thirty-nine cents a pound, a viable level. In fact, the price of mussels have not increased much since then. In 2012, Gilbert says he sold for forty-two cents per pound, but now that his farm has been certified as “organic,” he’s hoping for a higher “premium” price soon.

  Since his first harvest of 200,000 pounds, Gilbert has expanded his farming area to include about 100 hectares of water surface and his harvest has increased to 1.2 million pounds in 2012. When I was there in the summer of 2013, he expected his next annual harvest would produce about the same amount.

  The good news is that he has orders for every pound he can grow. Gilbert doesn’t sell retail but has opted to sell to several buyers, including Juan Roberts in Triton, Green Seafoods Ltd. in Winterton, and Eveleigh’s located near Twillingate.

  Standing on the wharf in Little Bay with Gilbert Simms on a calm summer morning, you can’t help but get caught up in his enthusiasm for the mussel-growing industry as he happily explains the ins and outs of how seed is collected, how socking is done, and how they harvest mussels in winter. He sketches drawings on a notepad to show you exactly what is happening underwater throughout the various processes.

  Looking out over the beautiful pristine waters of Little Bay, one can’t help but wonder what more could possibly be needed to have Gilbert’s farm certified as “organic.”

  “It’s all about your operational activities,” he explains. “We have to have food-grade oil for our barges, as well as high-grade grease, and everything for all the gear, and you have to make sure there is no debris of any kind in the water that would create a negative environmental impact,” he says.

  “So, even if there should happen to be a small spill of anything, there would be no environmental problem.”

  And then there is the obligatory detailed paper trail that is required to keep the bureaucrats happy—not only for environmental reasons, but government has many demands, including traceability of product in case something goes wrong at the consumer end.

  “We have to number everything. I record every detail so that, if anyone asks, I can say that this mussel came from, say, section A1, site C2, or whatever.”

  All that extra effort costs money, and it is certainly time-consuming, but the hope is that now that all the larger mussel growers in Newfoundland and Labrador have been certified, they will get a higher return for their product.

  At fifty-seven, Gilbert has no immediate plans for retirement, but when the day comes, he figures that at least one of his two sons might be interested. They both work in Fort McMurray now but come home often and are keen to work on the farm.

  “There’s always something to do year-round,” Gilbert says, adding that he hopes to expand to include an additional forty hectares.

  “We started this business because my wife and I wanted to come back home, and so far I love the business, and while we won’t get rich at it, we can make a living—and that’s all we want.”

  Jim Wellman grew up in Port Anson, a small fishing and logging community on Newfoundland’s northeast coast. The son of a schooner captain, Jim never strayed far from his marine roots despite choosing a career in journalism. For fifteen years, Jim was host of the popular radio program the Fisheries Broadcast on CBC Radio in Newfoundland. After taking an early retirement from the radio business in 1997, Jim turned off the microphone and picked up a pen. He has written six books with marine connections.

  Jim has been contracted by several agencies and corporations, such as Marine Atlantic, the Canadian Sealers Association, and Heritage Canada, to draw from his marine knowledge, particularly in the fishing industry. In November 2002, Jim became managing editor of the Navigator, Atlantic Canada’s premier fisheries and marine magazine.

  INDEX

  A

  A. F. Theriault Ltd. 79, 81

  Alder Point 191

  Arnold’s Cove 2, 3, 13, 16, 17

  Ashbourne, William 29-31

  Atlanticat 113

  Aucoin, Jean-Guy 170

  B

  Back Harbour, NL 28

  Barry, Bill 189, 190

  Barry Group of Companies 189

  Barry’s Fisheries 192

  Batteau, Labrador 149

  Bay of Fundy 117, 155

  Bay of Islands 190

  Beachside 109, 110

  Bear Point, NS 200

  Belliveau, Raymond “Ray” 195-204

  Benoit, Ian 60-67

  Berkshire, Ray 2, 13, 14, 18

  Berkshire, Terry 16

  Bertha Joyce 2-17

  Bess, Pastor K. M. 52

  Black, Richard 80

  Blackwood, Glenn 163-167

  Bluenose (ferry ship) 143, 184

  Bonavista Bay 163-165

  Botwood, NL 39

  Boutin, Samuel René 64

  Brighton, NL 213

  Bugden, Lloyd 152

  Bulgin, Harvey 136

  Bullen, Leo 4, 6, 11, 18

  Burgeo, NL 164

  Byrd, Richard E. 81

  C

  Canada 100 192

  Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation (CCFI) 165

  Canadian Coast Guard 14, 151, 160

  Canadian Council of Professional Fish Harvesters 103

  Cape Breton 48, 170, 171, 191

  Cape Sable Island 196-199

  caplin 72, 177, 178, 181

  Carmelle #1 24

  Carmelle #3 25

  Carmelle #6 25

  Central Newfoundland 42, 48

  Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Resources (CSAR) 165

  Charlesville Fisheries Ltd 195, 201

  Cheticamp, NS 170

  Clarke, Max 147-152

  Coaker, William 148

  Coast Guard Auxiliary 52

  cod 23, 31, 39, 51, 53, 71, 72, 86, 88, 95, 111, 164, 165, 166, 190

  cod moratorium 71, 72, 165, 177

  Codroy, NL 164

  Comeau Sea Products 154

  Come by Chance, NL 17

  Commercial Fishing Vessel (CFV) 171

  Confederation Building 150

  Confessions of a Boatbuilder 78

  Cormorant helicopter 199

  Cottles Island 128

  Council of Canadian Professional Fish Harvesters 206

  crab 39, 72, 111, 112, 121, 124, 166, 174, 213

  Crow Bay 177, 180

  Cutthroat Islands 31

  D

  Daffodil Place 41

  Decker, Trevor viii, 105

  de la Tour, Charles 186

  Delroy 3, 5-14, 17, 18

  Dennis Point Wharf 183

&nbs
p; d’Entremont, Carmelle 24

  d’Entremont, Claude 21-25

  d’Entremont, Floyd 183-186

  d’Entremont, Jean Guy 22

  d’Entremont, Shawn 23

  Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) 60, 106, 112, 165

  Deveau, Claude 174

  Deveau, Neil 155-160

  Digby, NS 185, 202

  Disney Cruise Lines 166

  Drover, Beulah 88, 89, 98

  Drover, Cal “Calvin” 88

  Drover, Dennis 87-100

  Drover, Hedley 86-101

  Drover, Lisa 91, 99

  Drover, Roger 99

  Drover, Roxanne 99

  Drover, Walter 89

  Duke of Topsail 152

  E

  Eastern Canadian Fisheries Expo 104

  Eastern Fishermen’s Federation (EFF) 104

  East Jeddore 195, 196

  E. F. Barnes Company 148

  EI system 107, 207

  Elliot, Stanley 35

  English Harbour East 190

  Ennis, Marjorie 9-18

  Environment Canada 60

  Evans, Clarence 8, 12, 18

  Exploits Island 139

  F

  Final Voyages series 169

  First Nations 105

  Fiset, Brendon 171-174

  Fiset, Hailey 171-173

  Fiset, Kevin 169-174

  Fiset, Tammie 171-174

  Fisheries Resource Conservation Council (FRCC) 22, 165

  Fishermen’s Protective Union (FPU) 148

  Fishery Products International 111

  Fish, Food & Allied Workers (FFAW) 205

  Fitzgerald, Lisa Anderson 141-145

  Fleet Queen 27, 29

  Fortune Bay, NL 190

  Fudge, Lloyd 213

  Fundy Fixed Gear Council 206

  G

  Gander, NL 39

  Garrett, William 18

  George, Ken 127-136

  George’s Bank, NL 22, 26

  Gideon’s Society 51

  Grand Bank dories 14

  Grand Etang, NS 170, 172, 175

  Greenham, Andrew “Chum” 27-35

  Greenham, Frank 128-139

  Greenham, Isaac 27, 29

  Greenland 124

  Green Seafoods Ltd. 214

  Groundfish Allocation Committee 23

  H

  Halifax, NS 1, 16, 45, 47, 77, 161, 173, 195

  Harding, Genevieve 60, 65

  Harding, Weldon 57-68

  Hatchet Cove, NL 89, 93

  Heffern, Lisa 123

  Heighton, Ronnie 103, 107

  Henneberry, Gerry 196-203

  Hodges Cove, NL 85-101

  Hogg, Peter 158-160

  Holder, Don 78

  Holley, Tom 181

  I

  Inshore Fisheries Ltd. 21

  Inverness Oran 170

  J

  Janeway Children’s Hospital 41

  Jeddry, Leo 153

  John Cabot 151

  K

  Kinden, Chelsea 40

  Kinden, Everett 38-42

  kippers 39

  L

  Labrador 27-32, 97, 147, 151, 164, 177, 190

  Labrador City 85-99

  Labrador Coast 31, 32, 149, 150, 177

  Lake boats 151

  Land and Sea 85

  L’Anse au Clair, NL 149

  Larade, Mark 170

  LBA Enterprises 212

  LeBlanc, Paul 115-119

  Lewisporte, NL 37-43, 127, 128, 139, 150, 167

  Little Bay, NL 211, 214

  lobster fishery 38-47

  Lorneville, NB 43-47

  Lower East Pubnico, NS 195

  Lower West Pubnico, NS 21, 185

  M

  mackerel 39, 116

  Maine 207

  Marine Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS) 158

  Marine Institute, St. John’s 113, 163, 166

  Marine Rescue Auxiliary 206

  Maritime Fishermen’s Union (MFU) 205, 206

  Martin, Harry 164

  McCarthy, Les 189, 191

  McCavour, Karen 43-48

  McCavour, Kenny 44, 47

  McEachern, Peter 57

  McEachern’s Point 57, 60, 61

  McMartin, Tom 78

  Melanson, Sydney 158

  Memorial University of Newfoundland 1, 163

  Merasheen Island 1, 18

  Meteghan, NS 79, 153, 155, 156, 209

  Meuse, Alain 115

  Mills, Terry 39

  Moore, Frank 164

  Mooring Cove 86, 88, 94, 100

  Mooring Cove Point 88, 95

  Morrow, Denny 143

  Moulaison, Joanne (Bourque) 116

  Murray’s Harbour 177, 181

  mussels 39, 212-214

  N

  Nain Banker 124

  Navigator magazine 21, 96, 115, 169, 172

  New Brunswick 37, 43-46, 55, 56, 121

  New Harbour, NL 69, 73

  Newstead–Comfort Cove 128, 139

  Norlantic Mussels Farms 39

  Northern Peninsula 35

  Northumberland Fishermen’s Association 104

  Northumberland Strait 103, 104

  Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) 165

  Notre Dame Bay, NL 40, 128, 132, 136, 139, 165, 167

  Nova Scotia 1, 21-24, 77, 103-105, 115-119, 141-145, 153, 162, 183, 186, 187, 195, 199, 202, 205, 208

  Nova Scotia Fisheries Sector Council 105, 141, 142

  Nova Scotia Labour Department 200

  NS Fish Packers Association 22

  O

  Ocean Spray 58

  Oromocto, NB 121

  Ottawa, ON 106, 112

  P

  Paradise, NL 147

  Peddle, Chris 123

  Peddle, Lesley 121-125

  Peddle, Wes “Willis” 86, 89, 94, 97

  Pelley, Bon 109-114

  Pelley, Melvin 110-111

  Pelley, Paul 113

  Petten, Blair 49, 53

  Petten, Lester 165

  Petten, Vernon 49-53

  Pictou, NS 103

  Pitcher, Carmel (Pomroy) 18

  Pitcher, Ernie 4, 18

  Pitcher, Lorraine 98

  Placentia Bay, NL 2, 3, 7, 12-18

  Placentia, NL 1, 3

  Pomroy, Jean 4, 9, 17, 18

  Pomroy, Leo 1, 3

  Pomroy, Loyola 1-18

  Pomroy, Nellie 3, 9, 10, 18

  Pomroy, Pat 1, 3

  Poole, Earl 178-182

  Poole, Ed 177-182

  Poole, Wallace 177-182

  Port de Grave Harbour Authority 52

  Port de Grave, NL 49-53, 165

  Poseidon Princess 25

  Pubnico Explorer 153-160

  Q

  Quebec 193

  Quirpon, NL 35

  R

  RCMP 94, 161

  Rebel’s Pride 123

  Regional Industries Training Commission (RITC) 142-143

  Reid, Don 127-139

  Rice, Sid 78

  River John, NS 103, 106

  Road to the Isles 38-40, 129

  Roberts, Juan 214

  Rosborough, Bob 79, 82

  Rosborough, James “Doug” 77-82

  Rousselle, Alfred 64

  Rousselle, Samuel 67r />
  S

  St. Anthony, NL 149, 165

  St. John’s, NL 1, 73, 85, 112, 113, 121, 147-151

  St. Lewis–Fox Harbour 177, 182

  salmon 39, 40, 165

  Saulnier, Hubert 161, 205-209

  Saulnierville, NS 205-209

  Science Advisory Committee for George’s Bank 22

  Scotia-Fundy Mobile Gear Committee 23

  Sea Folk 191

  Sealer 114

  Search and Rescue (SAR) 159-161

  Shag Harbour, NS 200

  Ship Harbour, NS 79

  shrimp 39, 166

  Silver Angel 195-200

  Simiana, James 161

  Simms, Gilbert 211-215

  Sluice Point, NS 115-119

  Snow, Judy 2, 8, 9, 18

  SPCA 41

  Springdale, NL 110-114, 211

  Stanley Smith 31-34

  Stephenville, NL 110

  Strait of Belle Isle 33

  Strickland, Max 164

  Stringer, Cyril 92

  Stringer, Ray 99

  Summerford, NL 136

  Surett, Zachary “Cario” 116-118

  T

  Tabusintac, NB 55-67

  Terrenceville, NL 190

  Thomas, Cyril 86

  Thomas, Willis 85-99

  Toronto, ON 109

  Transportation Safety Board (TSB) 154-161

  Transport Canada 195, 200

  Trask, David 155-161

  Treats from the Sea 38

  Triton, NL 214

  Twillingate Island 28

  Twillingate, NL 27-38, 214

  U

  US Navy 80, 110

  USS Constitution 81

  V

  VHF radio 198

  W

  Wells, Karl 149

  Western Head, NL 131

  Westport 160

  West Pubnico, NS 21, 183

  White Island, NL 15

  Whitetail 44

  Whitetail Fisheries 44

  Wickens, Ward 196-203

  Wild Bight, NL 109

  Winterton, NL 214

  Wishart, Gordie 57

  Wishart, John 57

  Wishart, Robbie 57, 59

  Woodman Fisheries 70

  Woodman, Fred Jr. 70-74

  Woodman, Fred Sr. 70-74

  Workers’ Compensation Board 202

  Y

  Yard, John 18

  Yarmouth, NS 21, 104, 115, 116, 141-143, 184, 205