As Prince Edward Island is situated on the east coast of Canada in an area they call the Maritimes, it's a wonderful area to go sightseeing for sea life ie; whales, dolphins, seals etc etc. I spent a while hunting on the Internet, through the phone book and brochures trying to find us a charter that would take us out for the day. Unfortunately it was tuna season and the majority of them were booked out well in advance for groups going gamefishing. Apparently it was also a little early in the season for whales to be passing through the Gulf of St Lawrence, but all the fishermen I spoke to said "there is always a chance".
A lovely gentleman named Joey, who happen to own Joey's Deep Sea Fishing Charters and spoke with this classic Irish/Canadian accent, assured me that he had taken plenty of wheelchair passengers on board his fishing boat the 'Julie Anne Jamie' before. He couldn't guarantee any sightings of whales but did talk up the opportunity to throw in some lines and come away with some big catches.
We caught a 'Pat and the Elephant' to a small fishing village called Rustico on the edge of the bay and we arrived a little early, so we sat out on the decking of the restaurant that was attached to the fishing shed. There were some lovely seniors having lunch together in the corner who we struck up a conversation with that actually turned out to be Joey's mother, father and father in law so already the day had very much a family feel about it.
It wasn't long before the other people who were going to join us on the boat arrived, which included many tourists like us and a couple of local lads that even brought their loaded esky along.
There were many hands on board to assist me into the boat and away we went through the heads of Rustico Bay and out to the deep waters of the Gulf of St Lawrence to catch us some Atlantic Cod ....
Click here for youtube clip or watch below
Unbeknownst to a lot of people on the boat there was actually a marine biologist from the Department of fisheries joining us and as people kept bringing in the Cod, he would go over to the catch tub, retrieve one, and begin to dissect the cranium area. Everyone was too busy watching their rods for bites, but I watched him intently as he collected the two small ear bones from the Cod and put them in a little sterile cup and away into his briefcase. I had the opportunity to quiz him about his actions and he informed me that this was the way that they were able to tell the fishes age, size and health which I thought was amazing. From that data they are then able to monitor the well-being of the fish in the area to make sure that they are not being overfished and becoming extinct.
It was great being out on on the ocean again, even if the swell was a little too big for me to be able to throw in a line myself. But the definite bonuses for me was watching Mel haul in the piscetorial delights from the bottom of the deep blue and also not getting those smelly bait hands!
Thanks Joey, Kenny & Ross for a great day.
Could you have picked a more corny song?!
ReplyDeleteI know how bad is it!
ReplyDeleteOk you two, find me a non-corny fishing song????
ReplyDelete