Acadian communities mourn after two N.B. lobster fishers die on first day of season
CTV
Residents of the Acadian peninsula in New Brunswick are mourning the loss of two lobster boat crew who died on the first day of the season.
Residents of the Acadian peninsula in New Brunswick are mourning the loss of two lobster boat crew who died on the first day of the season.
The RCMP have said the two men were from Lameque, N.B., a community off the northeastern tip of the peninsula. They died Saturday after falling from a fishing boat.
Tania Benoit, whose father, boyfriend and brother are lobster fishers, said she didn't know the men, but their deaths are a reminder of the dangers in the industry.
"It could be us, right?" she said in a telephone interview Sunday from her home in Tilley Road, N.B.
She said fishing families are acutely aware that the first and last days of the season are the most dangerous, as lobster traps are stacked high on the boats, reducing stability and creating greater risks of being struck by falling objects.
Benoit said when there's a death at sea, the news courses through the coastal communities "and touches many people, not just the fishermen."
"Even if fishing is fun and full of freedom, it's so dangerous," she said.
