Nova Scotia lobster pound burns days before season opening

A lobster pound in New Edinburgh, Nova Scotia, Canada was destroyed by fire on 25 November, just before the area’s lobster season opened.

The fire was reported at 10 p.m. on 25 November, according to the CBC. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the fire was extinguished shortly before 3 a.m. on 26 November, and the building was completely destroyed, but that no one was injured. The cause of the fire is being investigated, with the cause currently unknown, it said.

RCMP Staff Sergeant Marc Rose told the CBC that he could not say if the fire was suspicious, and only confirmed that “the scene is being guarded for further investigation.”  

Nova Scotia has experienced mounting tensions between First Nation lobster fishers and commercial fishers. Commercial fishermen objected to First Nation fishermen fishing outside of the normal season, leading to vandalism of lobster traps. The lobster pound that burned on 25 November was also the subject of vandalism, the CBC reported. In 2020, the facility was raided by a mob that burned and vandalized vehicles and stole lobsters.

Photo courtesy of WoodysPhotos