The population of harbour gulls welcomed two herring seiners today, when they arrived and offloaded their catch to waiting tank trucks.
Herring seiners have not been seen in Halifax for some time - they did not appear last year at all - although the Morning Star was in port yesterday. One boat usually acts as a scout and when (and if) it finds the migrating schools of fish it calls in other boats. They fish at night, and land the fish at the nearest port, to be trucked to the processing facilities in the Yarmouth area.
The fluctuating populations of herring over the years have resulted in a boom or bust fishery. At one time there were dozens of boats calling in Halifax. In the mid nineteen-sixties there were so many fish that boats came in from British Columbia.
Three or more other herring seiners are reported underway in the Yarmouth area, so depending on the position of the fish, we may see them in the coming days.
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