Cape Sable Economy
Canada is a great country, people from all over the world love to come here for freedom and prosperity, some come from underpriveleged countries, learn our language and it seems in no time they set up their own buisness and do well enough and other extended family come here to work.
Most of the imigrants go to larger cities like Toronto and Vancouver, this is easier for them as there are programs set up to help them get established.
Our way of life on the South coast of Nova Scotia is much different than the busy atomsphere of the larger Canadian centers.
Fishing industry is most important, and the backbone of our economy in this area, it has been for over two hundred years when our forefathers from Massachusetts decided to bring their families and settle on Cape Sable Isld.There have been some lean times over the years, but our fishermen and families are survivors, they practically lived on fish and clams, in winter they made sure they had pails of salt herring and mackerel, salt cod and pollock, in summer they had vegetable gardens, to put in the cellar for the long winter , they didn`t make much money and this is how most of the Island residents survived.
In the beginning of 1970,s the lobster stocks were so low, many of the fishermen sold their lobster lisences for a song in order to help them get by,at the time they were concerned about the future of the lobster fishery, they thought the off shore fisheries were causing stocks to dwindle.The fishermen came together and marched on Shelburne wharf, they were worried about their future and understandably so.
There has been a lot of changes around here, especially in the last thirty years. When they started building fiberglass fishing boats, they lasted longer than the wooden ones and were much stronger, this meant the fishermen could go way out to Georges banks and stay longer, there for they were catching more fish, they had a few good years , but in the mid 1980`s the Department of Fisheries found the fish stocks were getting low and it was a bad news day all around when they put a quota on the amount of fish being caught.Everyone was worried, the fishermen had big payments and operating costs on their boats, and real concern for the livlihood of their families.
At around that time for some unknown reasons the lobster fishing was starting to pick up, increase in catches, and it was a relief for those still holding a lobster lisence, the stocks have steadily increased since then and the fishermen have done better.
The economy is good now , when you have to be in line up at Tim Horton`s for coffee The children are well dressed and many go on to college to furthur their education, unlike in the past when only a few went to college , as their families could not afford to send them.
There are many recent changes especially in the Barrington Passage area , with all the new stores and buisnesses going up , i believe this is one of the fastest growing area of the province, that brings in more people from outlying areas to shop, go to resturants and buy gas too.
From this wonderful natural resource our economy is still good, although the first week of season was good weather, and hope for our fishermen but since then, there has been one storm after another with very high winds,which will result in lower catches for them all. With all of this prosperity , it has also driven prices up and cost for all services have skyrocketed, the demand is there so they figure why not. Some old houses around here are selling for ten times what the cost of building them was.This makes it hard for young couples to start out, and those living on low and fixed incomes, when in a small rural area you are asked to pay the same for some things as in Halifax or even Toronto area, where wages are much higher.
With all this positive outlook, there are still real problems in every level of government,there is only so much money for the different programs, sometimes government do not have their priorities in the right order , there is money wasted that could go for social programs and big concern for health care.
Our elected members of the of the legislature are getting a raise, because they work hard for it, they probably do , other people work hard as well,i have done so called man`s work all my life.how can these officials take that kind of pay knowing people on social assistance , disabled , are asked to exist on .However i do not condone people on social assistance that are strong and able to work,help them get a job. There is too much of a gap here for those who have and have not. Just recently a news story , Canada is giving millions to other countries, what about taking care of our own citizens first who have worked hard , contributed and paid taxes all their lives, i am glad we help the less fortunate,but in our area the rent is expensive, the amount of assistance people recieve, is taken just for a roof over your head.I hope when our elected members take that 90,000 they will remember to give to the food bank on their way home.
Ask someone who is disabled to survive on a meager allowance of 415.00 for one person a month and such things as t v and phone are classified as a luxury, and that is for everything including food too. If you have to rent they will give you a certain amount for rent.
Also ask someone who is on a waiting list for heart surgery, or someone who is hobbling round waiting for hip surgery, up to six months eye surgery ,my husband waited all day , in emergency , no bed, he had pneumonia , was dying with lung cancer, yes that hurt.Our tax dollars are sometimes duplicated and mismanaged,and the real social problems are often forgotten and swept under the rug.There is just too much money wasted by government.
With any planned infrastructure program, a big portion of the money is taken up with one study after another. What started out being a big project ends up with much less money for the project itself.
Overall the Atlantic ocean and it`s bountiful harvest have been good for all the people of our region, a great resource, ii hope it continues and if managed well will be there for the future of our economy and the people of our Cape Sable.
written by Deloris (Nickerson ) Anderson Dec. 14 , 2003
Update April 14, 2008
Many of our people have gone to Alberta to work, more are planning to go in June,there are no jobs here for our young people,so they must leave to find work.
There are reports the lobster fishing is not good, catches have been dropping the past few years.
Last winter season the catches were down , there was one storm after the other so they could not go check their traps.
Here it `s not unusual to have storms with strong winds of 100 klms. or more.in those storms the wind really howled around my house,it was very noisy.
I can only imagine what it is like on the bottom of the ocean,it would be constantly churning. There has been much erosion along the coast this winter, at Baccaro we saw where the power of the ocean dragged a lobster trap up over the rocks and across the road.
Rocks the size of footballs were pushed up over the bank, 60 feet or more up on the grass.
All winter there were back to back storms, fishermen could not go out and when the did the catches were way down.
They are hard working men and often risks their lives and go even when it is too dangerous.
only to find many of their traps empty. now they are getting concerned.
Operating costs are high ,for bait and gas,pay the crew,for those with newer boats it`s huge payments and insurance to pay. Sometimes in stormy weather they have to stay ashore for five days or more. Is this a another downturn in the lobster industry?
They will continue to go , doing what they know,besides the ocean is in their blood,it`s a way of life , like their ancestors before them .They just cannot stay on shore for long.
I hope for them, maybe when the weather is better, the ocean will warm up and catches
improve.
May 5 , 2010 There is again concern in lobster fishery , for a year or more prices have dropped, if it is due to slow markets in states, then perhaps they could be looking to other countries and Canada, promote them here , i hope Canadians would eat more lobster, but it`s not good to have all your eggs in one basket.
I heard on T V that some Americans are not going out to eat as often as before,and not eating lobster they have been in recession , so many losing their homes, i believe some in U S are financially worse off than we are. Fishermen have big boat payments as well as operating costs.
I feel sorry for young men who have just got into fishery , but they did good from 1985 up to last few years so the older fishermen have had some very good years.
Deloris Anderson
D Anderson
Most of the imigrants go to larger cities like Toronto and Vancouver, this is easier for them as there are programs set up to help them get established.
Our way of life on the South coast of Nova Scotia is much different than the busy atomsphere of the larger Canadian centers.
Fishing industry is most important, and the backbone of our economy in this area, it has been for over two hundred years when our forefathers from Massachusetts decided to bring their families and settle on Cape Sable Isld.There have been some lean times over the years, but our fishermen and families are survivors, they practically lived on fish and clams, in winter they made sure they had pails of salt herring and mackerel, salt cod and pollock, in summer they had vegetable gardens, to put in the cellar for the long winter , they didn`t make much money and this is how most of the Island residents survived.
In the beginning of 1970,s the lobster stocks were so low, many of the fishermen sold their lobster lisences for a song in order to help them get by,at the time they were concerned about the future of the lobster fishery, they thought the off shore fisheries were causing stocks to dwindle.The fishermen came together and marched on Shelburne wharf, they were worried about their future and understandably so.
There has been a lot of changes around here, especially in the last thirty years. When they started building fiberglass fishing boats, they lasted longer than the wooden ones and were much stronger, this meant the fishermen could go way out to Georges banks and stay longer, there for they were catching more fish, they had a few good years , but in the mid 1980`s the Department of Fisheries found the fish stocks were getting low and it was a bad news day all around when they put a quota on the amount of fish being caught.Everyone was worried, the fishermen had big payments and operating costs on their boats, and real concern for the livlihood of their families.
At around that time for some unknown reasons the lobster fishing was starting to pick up, increase in catches, and it was a relief for those still holding a lobster lisence, the stocks have steadily increased since then and the fishermen have done better.
The economy is good now , when you have to be in line up at Tim Horton`s for coffee The children are well dressed and many go on to college to furthur their education, unlike in the past when only a few went to college , as their families could not afford to send them.
There are many recent changes especially in the Barrington Passage area , with all the new stores and buisnesses going up , i believe this is one of the fastest growing area of the province, that brings in more people from outlying areas to shop, go to resturants and buy gas too.
From this wonderful natural resource our economy is still good, although the first week of season was good weather, and hope for our fishermen but since then, there has been one storm after another with very high winds,which will result in lower catches for them all. With all of this prosperity , it has also driven prices up and cost for all services have skyrocketed, the demand is there so they figure why not. Some old houses around here are selling for ten times what the cost of building them was.This makes it hard for young couples to start out, and those living on low and fixed incomes, when in a small rural area you are asked to pay the same for some things as in Halifax or even Toronto area, where wages are much higher.
With all this positive outlook, there are still real problems in every level of government,there is only so much money for the different programs, sometimes government do not have their priorities in the right order , there is money wasted that could go for social programs and big concern for health care.
Our elected members of the of the legislature are getting a raise, because they work hard for it, they probably do , other people work hard as well,i have done so called man`s work all my life.how can these officials take that kind of pay knowing people on social assistance , disabled , are asked to exist on .However i do not condone people on social assistance that are strong and able to work,help them get a job. There is too much of a gap here for those who have and have not. Just recently a news story , Canada is giving millions to other countries, what about taking care of our own citizens first who have worked hard , contributed and paid taxes all their lives, i am glad we help the less fortunate,but in our area the rent is expensive, the amount of assistance people recieve, is taken just for a roof over your head.I hope when our elected members take that 90,000 they will remember to give to the food bank on their way home.
Ask someone who is disabled to survive on a meager allowance of 415.00 for one person a month and such things as t v and phone are classified as a luxury, and that is for everything including food too. If you have to rent they will give you a certain amount for rent.
Also ask someone who is on a waiting list for heart surgery, or someone who is hobbling round waiting for hip surgery, up to six months eye surgery ,my husband waited all day , in emergency , no bed, he had pneumonia , was dying with lung cancer, yes that hurt.Our tax dollars are sometimes duplicated and mismanaged,and the real social problems are often forgotten and swept under the rug.There is just too much money wasted by government.
With any planned infrastructure program, a big portion of the money is taken up with one study after another. What started out being a big project ends up with much less money for the project itself.
Overall the Atlantic ocean and it`s bountiful harvest have been good for all the people of our region, a great resource, ii hope it continues and if managed well will be there for the future of our economy and the people of our Cape Sable.
written by Deloris (Nickerson ) Anderson Dec. 14 , 2003
Update April 14, 2008
Many of our people have gone to Alberta to work, more are planning to go in June,there are no jobs here for our young people,so they must leave to find work.
There are reports the lobster fishing is not good, catches have been dropping the past few years.
Last winter season the catches were down , there was one storm after the other so they could not go check their traps.
Here it `s not unusual to have storms with strong winds of 100 klms. or more.in those storms the wind really howled around my house,it was very noisy.
I can only imagine what it is like on the bottom of the ocean,it would be constantly churning. There has been much erosion along the coast this winter, at Baccaro we saw where the power of the ocean dragged a lobster trap up over the rocks and across the road.
Rocks the size of footballs were pushed up over the bank, 60 feet or more up on the grass.
All winter there were back to back storms, fishermen could not go out and when the did the catches were way down.
They are hard working men and often risks their lives and go even when it is too dangerous.
only to find many of their traps empty. now they are getting concerned.
Operating costs are high ,for bait and gas,pay the crew,for those with newer boats it`s huge payments and insurance to pay. Sometimes in stormy weather they have to stay ashore for five days or more. Is this a another downturn in the lobster industry?
They will continue to go , doing what they know,besides the ocean is in their blood,it`s a way of life , like their ancestors before them .They just cannot stay on shore for long.
I hope for them, maybe when the weather is better, the ocean will warm up and catches
improve.
May 5 , 2010 There is again concern in lobster fishery , for a year or more prices have dropped, if it is due to slow markets in states, then perhaps they could be looking to other countries and Canada, promote them here , i hope Canadians would eat more lobster, but it`s not good to have all your eggs in one basket.
I heard on T V that some Americans are not going out to eat as often as before,and not eating lobster they have been in recession , so many losing their homes, i believe some in U S are financially worse off than we are. Fishermen have big boat payments as well as operating costs.
I feel sorry for young men who have just got into fishery , but they did good from 1985 up to last few years so the older fishermen have had some very good years.
Deloris Anderson
D Anderson
Labels: Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia Economy
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