02/23/2025
Fishermen in distress
(Rivière-au-Renard) In the port of Rivière-au-Renard, the boats are stored for the winter. Snow accumulates there, which creates a beautiful and dramatic picture that has nothing abnormal.
What is, however, is that many have not seen the sea for much longer than the beginning of winter. Shrimp harvesters, especially. Last year, out of about forty shrimp permits, only eight captains went fishing. "In July, the yard was full of boats," says Patrice Élément, director of the Quebec Shrimp Fishermen's Office. The calculation is simple: the fisherman must assess whether he will lose more money at sea than at the dock.
Many manage with difficulty and misery to make payments for the storage of their boats; some no longer do.
According to Patrice Élément, half of Quebec's shrimp fleet is in technical bankruptcy. Most of the boats are for sale. If the financial institutions have not seized them, it is because they do not know what to do with them.
"It's hard for guys. They fished all their lives. They have earned a good living and they pick themselves up with nothing." Patrice Élément, Director of the Quebec Shrimp Fishers' Office Pierre-Marc Dufresne started cod fishing with his father 55 years ago. He has seen all the changes of the sea. He has been fishing for shrimp since 1991, but he never thought he would ever find himself in front of so few shrimp in the gulf.
And so many debts. "The whole family is affected," he says. Everything we have built is collapsing under our feet. " His boat is for sale. The one he hoped to bequeath to his children. This year, the captain took a lobster exploratory permit, an initiative of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
The fisherman chose to go to the west region of Anticosti even if it will take him weeks away from home where his wife, his business partner, is.
She is the one who keeps the accounts and who accepted this compromise, because the numbers no longer add up. "I didn't sleep well last night," admits the fisherman, met the day after this decision that could allow him to save his business. "I have a lot to think about," said the captain, between two silences.
The man is therefore preparing to relearn a trade, as others return to school. He is not serene, but resigned. "It's a new experience for me," he says. I have everything to learn about this. At 69 years old. " The situation does not only affect fishermen at the end of their career, quite the contrary.
Young people are heavily in debt, confirms the president of the Association of Captains-Owners of the Gaspésie, Dany Cassivi. They buy new permits with the hope that it will be profitable in the long run.
"There are guys who have four creditors for the same loan," he says. He himself faces serious challenges and his health is affected.
With the 33% reduction in fishing rights this year for crab, his company is no longer possible. "We're going the same, we have no choice. I have to pay for my boat and my crew members. They have families... I could go fishing with another fisherman. All the money would come into my pockets and I would make my payments, but I have a business and I want to run it. It comes from my father, in addition." Dany Cassivi, president of the Association of Captains-owners of the Gaspésie
A safety net
There is little talk about mental health issues in the fishing world, let alone among captains. In this homogeneous group, vulnerability does not have much place. "Men in this traditional environment are raised to be strong," says Jean-Jacques Élie, co-founder of the Convergence organization whose primary mandate is to help men in distress, but who has been particularly interested in fishermen for about a year. "It's hard, fishing," he continues.
"Many bridge men, at 40, no longer feel their hands. They no longer have sensitivity in their hands. With freezing and thawing. " So, imagine talking about emotions... To try to join them, the group has set up a dock worker service, a worker who goes directly to fishermen on the model of street workers in cities or rural workers, for farmers.
It was a first in Quebec, but the first incumbent quickly resigned. He couldn't break through the middle. "It takes someone who has a lot of empathy, a lot of heart and guts," lists Jean-Jacques Élie. Fishermen can easily be Gros-Jean as in front of..." It is seawater that circulates in their veins. There are guys who go out by boat just because it's been several days since they went out. They have to go to sea. It's deeply buried in them.
Jean-Jacques Élie, co-founder of the Convergence organization that helps the men of the Gaspé Peninsula "The fisherman comes here when he finally realizes that all the management problems of his company end up having an impact on his family life. Let him lose patience with the children, "says Stéphane Beaulieu, a worker for Convergence in Rivière-au-Renard. The men who show up at his office are regularly recommended by someone, often their spouse, but also the family doctor and even bankers, where we more often see these entrepreneurs "farting". "Shame in a man is a very powerful and destructive feeling," says Stéphane Beaulieu. There is a suicidal and homicidal risk assessment for each man met.
"Fishing equipment employees know our services," he continues. If they see a guy who is usually in a good mood and happy and who enters the gruff and cheery store, there is a good chance that he will be told to go see Stéphane at Convergence. " Behavioral changes are more easily identifiable in a village of 1500 people.
Which leads to this phenomenon: some fishermen who decide to look for help will prefer to drive nearly two hours to Chandler, in the Baie-des-Chaleurs, where there is also a Convergence office.
Conversely, Stéphane Beaulieu receives fishermen from Chandler. "We are weavinge a net around them," he imagines. The town hall involved Several stakeholders are involved in this approach, including the mayor of Gaspé himself. "We must do it," says Daniel Côté, "not wait until 12 people have committed su***de before starting to move. We know that people find themselves in financial difficulty. " And since these entrepreneurs were once prosperous, they are not going to seek help. "It was necessary to be proactive and go to the front to ensure that those who need help can get help," he continues. Because they are not inclined to ask for it. This is how we thought about it.
With public health stakeholders and partners. We decided to create a social net. " Fishing, as long as we have not done it, we cannot understand how much it is a way of life. And it's a way of life from generation to generation. Daniel Côté, mayor of Gaspé "These people don't work on the land, they work on the sea. And changing a way of life that is intergenerational is not done with a magic wand," continues Mayor Daniel Côté. Especially when you hope it will come back. So, people, they cultivate hope. In some cases, finances catch up with hope. That's where it gets dangerous.
" NUMBER OF FISHING PERMITS (Commerciale fishing license, for Quebec, December 31, 2024) Snow crab: 356 Shrimp: 44 Lobster: 578 Greenland halibut/turbot: 367* * bottom fishing, fixed gear flotilla with access for Greenland halibut fishing Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Dany Cassivi fishes turbot and crab, two species in decline — turbot is practically extinct. When he had a panic attack at sea, his men did not hesitate and brought the boat back to the port.
