Canadian seafood businesses that have battled raging wildfires in recent weeks are finally finding time to get word out about the status of their facilities, with several close calls reported.
More than 2,600 fires have consumed about 13 million acres of forest in Canada thus far in 2023. In recent weeks, the smoke was so bad it darkened skies across Eastern Canada and the Eastern United States. Dry conditions, exacerbated by climate change, have been blamed for the fires, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
At the Fisherman's Market Lobster Pound in Ingomar, Nova Scotia, CAD 5 million (USD 3.8 million, EUR 3.5 million) worth of live lobsters were nearly lost after the facility lost power. Because the roads to the facility had been closed – and remained inaccessible for 13 days – the facility’s owner, Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Canada-based Mersey Seafoods, was forced to arrange daily trips by barge to the pound to ensure the generators were topped off with fuel and running smoothly.
“The roads were on fire, so it's not like we could say, 'Wow, just let us bring a truck in,’” Greg Sutcliffe, the plant’s manager, told the CBC. “We had to find a plan B.”
Without power, the lobster pound could not recirculate water or regulate its temperature, and could not monitor the facility via its closed-circuit video cameras without Wi-Fi. Twice, Mersey Seafoods arranged deliveries of 8,000 liters of fuel to keep its generators running. The generator failed once, but workers managed to get it fixed in time to keep all of the lobster alive.
"This isn't anything even remotely part of what you would normally do in a day, but that's what we had to do," Sutcliffe said.
The Fisherman's Market processing plant in Blanche, Nova Scotia, which held live lobster and 750,000 pounds of frozen seafood, also lost power, but at least it was accessible by road, according to plant manager Carl Townsend.
"You pray that generator starts, and it did," Townsend said.
Ultimately, both Fisherman's Market plants survived without losses.
"I don't think there's words that describe it. It's almost like a euphoria. Just quite a weight lifted," Fisherman's Market President Monte Snow said.
Digby, Nova Scotia-based fishing firm Scotia Harvest and Cooke Aquaculture each helped Fisherman's Market in its efforts, according to Snow.
"It wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for the collective teamwork," Snow said.
Cooke has also helped firefighting efforts across New Brunswick, sending a one-ton fire pumper truck, two tractor trailers, ATVs, a support trailer with three high pressure water pumps, communications radio batteries, and other relief supplies to help local firefighters. Additionally, Cooke subsidiary Shoreland Transport delivered a refrigerated tractor trailer to store food and beverages and delivered a barbeque trailer along with donated salmon burgers to be prepared by Cooke employees for the firefighters.
“We thank the brave local firefighters and first responders, including nearly a dozen Cooke Aquaculture employees who are volunteer firefighters, battling the intense blaze around Saint Andrews to keep community members safe. Charlotte County is home to many of our employees, and we will be supporting any who have been displaced,” Cooke said in a press release. “Cooke Aquaculture is proud to employ many volunteer firefighters, many of whom are part of the effort to keep their communities safe with the fires taking place this week in both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. While our employees and other first responders are bravely combatting this fire, Cooke remains in contact with municipal officials, EMO, and evacuation centers, and are ready to provide additional support as needed.”
At one point last week, as many as 20 seafood industry facilities were in danger of being overtaken by various wildfires burning in Nova Scotia, according to the CBC. It's unclear how many of those facilities are still in danger, though none have been reported lost
“When you’ve got a lot of inventory – millions of dollars – it’s critical and a significant concern to our members who have these facilities,” Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance President Osborne Burke said. “You take any one of these operations out of a small community and it’s the heart of the community.”
Photo courtesy of Cooke Aquaculture
