‘Major damage’: East Coast fishing industry feeling impact from post tropical storm

The impact of post-tropical storm Fiona on Atlantic Canada’s fishing industry is still being tallied, but Osborne Burke already knows it will cost almost $2 million to repair a major seafood processing plant in Glace Bay, N.S.

The general manager of Victoria Co-operative Fisheries Ltd. says the high-tech operation was torn open by Fiona’s hurricane-force winds and a destructive storm surge last Saturday as Fiona roared over Cape Breton.

Meanwhile, major damage to fishing boats and small-craft harbours has been reported in Nova Scotia’s eastern mainland, Cape Breton, P.E.I. and southwestern Newfoundland.

Earlier this week, the federal Fisheries Department said five of the 180 harbours in the region were no longer operational, another 99 were partly working and 20 would need further assessment.

2:05 New Glasgow residents sifting through storm debris

Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray has said she expects the number of unusable harbours to increase as inspections continue.

Meanwhile, some in the industry say they have been struck by the fickle nature of the storm, which wreaked havoc on some fishing communities and left others nearby virtually unscathed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 30, 2022.