Lobster Special!

North America » Canada » New Brunswick » Richibucto
August 30th 2006

Published: August 31st 2006

August 23, 2006 Richibucto Harbour, New Brunswick & Northumberland Strait What’s purply-brown, armored like a tank, can be right- or left-clawed, and goes by the nickname of “bug” out here on the east coast? We found out one week ago, when we were handed an opportunity that was too good to pass up: spending a day on a New Brunswick lobsterboat and seeing what the life of a lobsterman is... Read Full Entry

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Shelly & Jeff Randall

Waltzing Matilda

We are a writer/photographer and a land-use planner from Port Townsend, Wash., who quit our jobs to take a year-long "sabbatical" for the 12 months of 2006. Our travel vehicle was a Volkswagen Westfalia camper-van named Matilda, after the Australian phrase (and song) "Waltzing Matilda" -- meaning to hit the road with your possessions slung in a bag over your shoulder. We were glad not to be wandering on foot like those Aussie swagmen! We had a memorable trip waltzing around the U.S. and Canada, learning as much as we could about this vast and diverse continent we call home. So glad we di... full info

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Trio at Stern

There are many repetitive moves in a day of lobstering. Here Ray and Dusty watch Cameron shoving traps back into the sea.

Banding Markets

One task we could assist with was banding the claws of the market-sized lobsters. Dusty helped, too. We used a spring-loaded tool to expand the rubber bands and slip them over menacing claws, just in case the lobsters got a notion to claw each other to bits.

Ray on the Rail

Ray was the third crewman who got his hands into the traps. He was always on the lookout for anything unusual that might have been dragged up...

Bycatch

...like this collection of sea creatures artfully arranged by Dusty. The flounder was kept for bait, the sea stars and sponges tossed back. We also caught scores of inedible rock crabs, green urchins, and a couple of rockfish whose swim bladders had inflated. I don't think they made it.

Fellow Lobstermen

Another Richibucto boat heads back to port. We were told there were 100 lobsterboats based out of the harbor, making it one of the largest ports on the New Brunswick coast.

Banded Bin

Here's one of three bins we mostly filled in our day's work, the one with banded "markets." The total haul weighed in at 210 pounds from 250 traps, so we didn't quite make the 1-pound-per-trap average, which is considered good.

Deckwash

Ray and Cameron do a quick deckwash, mostly swishing seaweed into the scuppers.

Beaching Our Boat

Because Josh thought he might have wrapped a buoy line around his prop toward the end of the day, he beached Steven V on a soft sand spit near the harbor entrance so he could jump overboard and take a look. Cameron busied himself making new bait bags out of netting.

Fisheries Inspection

Inspectors from Fisheries and Oceans Canada chose this moment to board and inspect our catch. They randomly measured a few lobsters in all our bins to make sure none were under the legal limit.

Fisheries Signature

By the time Josh was asked to sign the paperwork, he was stripped down to his boxers in preparation for diving overboard. Later he said he knew all the inspectors, which is why he was so casual, but it was the first time they'd inspected his boat this season.

Fisheries Wave

Of course Steven V passed inspection--we can vouch for the crew being as honest as you'd hope to find. Josh cheerily waved goodbye and jumped in. He determined the prop was not fouled. Oh, well, he got a swim out of the venture. Dusty went in, too.

Atop the Wheelhouse

Steaming back to port, Dusty climbed up on the wheelhouse to get the best view.

Wheelhouse View

And here is that view.

Giving a Drink

As they had done a couple times throughout the day, the crew watered the lobsters one more time by lowering the floating, handled bins overboard. Of course, the lobsters are sold live and will be kept alive until they're cooked.

At the Buyer's Dock

The Steven V sells her catch to a buyer right at the port who hoists the bins of lobsters up and away, then lowers down empty replacement bins. The lobsterman are paid $4.50-5.50 per pound; compare that to what you pay at a supermarket!

Back at the Slip

Tied up once more after nine hours on the water. It was quite a day, and we came away with a deep appreciation for the hard-working lobstermen.

Lobsters, Uncooked

The two lobsters we bought off the Steven V for our dinner, still alive and purply-brown.

Lobster, Cooked

One of our catch steamed in seawater we collected offshore and stored in our Nalgene bottle. Ready for eating! And was it good...

Rob & Josee

Our link to Capt. Josh: the couple we met on a whale-watching cruise off Cape Breton, Nova Scotia five days earlier. That would be Rob (a friend of Josh's) and his girlfriend Josee. When they found out we how interested we were in all things related to the sea, he offered to set us up on a lobster boat in his hometown in New Brunswick. We took him up on it!

31st August 2006

Alison Howe
non-member comment

All the way from downunder
I have been following your journey for sometime(being attracted by the waltzing matilda title). No I am not some crazed Aussie stalker, just a mum whose first son is at present travelling the world for 4 months. He set up a blog and had such good intentions to keep the old folks at home up to date. Unfortunately studying Acturarial Studies at University in Canberra for 5 years did little to increase his communications skills, or his ability to give us a little glimpse of the places he visits,therefore I find myself heading straight to Waltzing Matilda. I do hope that you are not offended that a stranger on the other side of the world is eagerly logging on to your site and very much enjoying the detailed journal of your amazing adventure.

31st August 2006

Randy Kline
non-member comment

Canada, aye!
Greetings - Great pics and narrative . . . Jen the kids and I are in Vernon, BC soaking up some canadian sanity. All goes well on the home front (including your home). I've been playing guitar all the time, I've now done six open mikes and have written a number of songs and rap/spoken word pieces - very political as you can imagine (George Bush lies/the rich man decides/the Iraqi children die/while the poor people cry). My bike shop, Sister Cycles, opens in November and I'm no longer working in Poulsbo (which is a good thing). In the immortal words of David Bowie, ch-ch-ch-changes but all positive - safe travels. Cheers Randy, Jen, Charlotte and Olivia

31st August 2006

Val
non-member comment

See you one day at your Skinetic Festival!
Hi Jeff and Shelly! That's so fabulous that you could arrange such a day on a lobsterday, we couldn't have wished you better for a journey in the Maritimes! We're back from Nova Scotia, we really enjoyed our trip but it was definitely too short. You can have a look at it on our new blog at http://valetmartin.blogs-de-voyage.fr, if you ever have time. It's in French, but pictures are an universal language! We are very pleased that you enjoyed so much your trip in Eastern Quebec and in the Maritimes... Gaspesie, New Brunswick, PEI and Nova Scotia are some of the places we really cherish. We hope to meet you again someday at Quebec's Carnival or in your hometown at the Skinetic Festival! ;) We really enjoyed your stay with us in Charny, as well as Val's family enjoyed it in La Pocatiere (enough for Val's mom to think about taking English classes to receive more wonderful hosts like you and be able to have a good conversation with them!), you made our weekend! Val and Martin

1st September 2006

Dad and Mom
non-member comment

WOW
Quite a story. I had a feel for the Lobsterman fishing with your great pictures and write up. Looks like a rough life but enjoyable also. As always the photos were great and told the story. Keep it up. We were happy to hear from you tonight. Switched the cable to the new computer and the pictures popped right up. Love it. Take care. Love, Dad and Mom

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