HALIFAX – The tragic loss of five fishermen off the coast of Nova Scotia got a special mention in Premier Darrell Dexter’s speech from the throne.
Dexter opened the fifth session of the 61st General Assembly of the Nova Scotia Legislature on Tuesday, and included plans to propose legislation to set aside a day dedicated to the memory of the Miss Ally crew members and other fishermen and woman who have been lost at sea.
The 14-metre vessel, out of Woods Harbour, capsized off the coast on Feb. 17.
The halibut fishing boat’s young crew were all lost and presumed dead.
Dexter said it had been 40 days since the boat sank in stormy conditions.
“Those young men sought to make a living and support their families,” Dexter said. “My government will propose legislation to declare a day dedicated to remembrance of all Nova Scotian fishermen and woman lost at sea.”
The hull of the Miss Ally was found drifting off the coast of N.S., about 238 kilometres southeast of Halifax, on Feb. 23 — four days after official search efforts were scaled back.
A privately hired dive team, aboard a local fishing boat, examined the wreck and found the boat had been extensively damaged and the wheelhouse and living quarters were gone.
That dashed any hope the bodies of the five men would be recovered.
Billy Jack Hatfield, Tyson Townsend, Steven Cole Nickerson, Joel Hopkins and the Miss Ally’s skipper Katlin Todd Nickerson all hailed from Woods Harbour or nearby communities.
Family, friends and local community members were devastated by the loss. But, as memorials were held for the men, who all left behind young families, a movement began to find a long-lasting way to honour their lives.
Phoebe Malone, a distant relative of Tyson Townsend, told Global News earlier this month she had started a petition and Facebook group to ask the government to dedicate a day to mariners lost at sea
“Ontario had Family Day on February 18th and that was the day we were looking for our men,” Malone told Global News. “We don’t have that in Nova Scotia.”
At that time, Dexter acknowledged the province had been “shaped by the sea.”
“In every community there are people who put their lives at risk to go out to sea,” he said.
In Tuesday’s speech, the premier did not say if the day would be an official holiday.
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