Stuck boats, damaged propellers and warm lobster: The cost of excessive moss in Naufrage harbour
CBC
People who fish lobster out of the harbour in Naufrage on Prince Edward Island's north shore say the area where they unload and refuel is filled with moss, causing boats to get stuck at low tide.
"This is an ongoing problem, but this year has been absolutely horrific," said Janet MacDonald, who has been fishing out of Naufrage Harbour with her family for 48 years.
"The problem right now, it's the moss. You can't get in. You can't get out."
She said thus far, crews have been "lucky" because weather conditions have been favourable.
"What's going to happen if somebody's stuck in too long or somebody is stuck in the pond and you can't get past them and everything's starting to bottleneck?" asked MacDonald.
"It doesn't take a scientist to tell you this is just an accident waiting to happen. You cannot replace a life."
MacDonald said approximately 70 boats fish lobster out of Naufrage harbour.
And the problems go beyond getting stuck — moss is getting into boats' exhaust systems, too, causing concerns about possible overheating. Exhaust systems take in water to cool the engine, which can't happen when it's plugged with moss.
Getting tangled in the moss is also damaging boat propellers or blades, which MacDonald said are expensive to replace and hard to find on short notice.
"They start at $3,500 for a set of blades. And it doesn't make any difference whether you have insurance, if you do not have a spare set, you're not going fishing the next day."
It's a frustrating situation for buyers, since they are all located at the wharf's east side, which is seeing the worst of the moss buildup. That's where boats stop to unload their catches and have them weighed.
"This has never happened, where we've had this issue on this side of the wharf," said buyer Jason MacCormack.
"There's generally water issues, but not anything to this extreme where there's seven or eight feet of moss in the whole bullpen. It's never happened."
MacCormack said boats could end up stranded out in the water for several hours when they are unable to dock.
Days after Calgary’s mayor urged sparing no expense to build a replacement water main due to a pair of catastrophic breaks in 18 months, one city councillor is advising caution.
A Toronto Maple Leafs player paid tribute over the weekend to a grocery store worker and fan who died suddenly last week and is being remembered as a warm, friendly face who loved the team.
A helicopter full of researchers with the Yukon Geological Survey is scouring a remote mountain region in southwest Yukon, looking for avalanches and landslides – evidence of a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that rattled the area last month.
Environmental group Greenpeace is calling for more transparency on the part of Canada's largest pulp and paper company, saying it has received millions of dollars in government funding without providing the public with details of how that money is being used or sharing its plans for the future of Canada's forests.
A 19-year-old Calgary man who was once placed on a terrorism peace bond for social media posts promoting ISIS and the killing of gay men got into an argument with a judge Monday about his pro-Nazi beliefs.
Proceedings got underway in B.C. Supreme Court Monday in a case that will determine whether faith-based organizations can continue to prohibit medical assistance in dying (MAID) within their facilities.
Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola said Monday that she would challenge Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in this year's midterm elections, vowing to shake up the establishment to make life more affordable for Alaskans.
The federal Conservatives are accusing the Liberals of rewarding "Beijing's intimidation" after some parliamentarians on a trip to Taiwan decided to return earlier than planned.
Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to northern B.C. to meet with Coastal First Nations before leaving on his trip to China, a government official confirmed to CBC News.
Police have charged another man in connection with a 2023 gold heist at Pearson airport, saying he was arrested after flying into the country on Monday.
Documents show the Ontario government has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on external legal fees to fight a successful legal challenge — which the province is appealing this month — against its plan to remove bike lanes on major Toronto streets
Gulf Island Peat Moss is monitoring a waste pile of shavings on its property in Foxley River after the pile caught fire Monday morning, a company representative says.
Officials from the London, Ont., and several neighbouring counties will push the Ford government for improved passenger rail service in the region when they meet with the Ontario government at a conference in Toronto this month.