There are very few 20-year-olds who know exactly what they want to do with their lives, but for Bradley Roma, there was never any question.
“I’ve been fishing since I could walk,” he said. “I finished high school early and went right to fishing with my old man, full time.”
The aforementioned “old man” is Chris Roma of East Petpeswick, captaining in Bradley’s lifetime the Rockin’ Robin and now the Atlantic Explorer. Chris thought his son might want to try for university, to find a life and living on good old terra firma, but alas, those raised on the ocean develop a curious aversion to just about anything else. His son was resolute.
“I love being out on the water and I love everything about the excitement,” said Bradley. “It’s always what I really wanted to do.”
But while youth comes with its virtues, it lacks entirely in patience for paperwork. The complexities of entering the industry on his own, and of securing a loan for the purchase of boat and license, were beyond Bradley. It took the support of his parents, and critically of the Nova Scotia Fisheries and Aquaculture Loan Board, to find and sign the dotted line.
“I’ve always heard it’s bad luck to change the name,” said Bradley of his first command, the 40 foot Bobby Lee II. He’s also heard it’s only bad luck to change the name while you’re still making payments. The laws of the high sea are strange to be sure, but Bradley has elected not to test them. Bobby Lee II will do just fine, an older craft, to be sure, but it’s his.
This coming spring will be Bradley’s first season under his own power, and for this opportunity he’s extremely grateful to the Fisheries Loan Board, rescuing him from the necessity of a bank loan, and the lack of flexibility that often entails.
“I didn’t want to go through a bank,” he said. “I wanted to go somewhere they support fishermen.”
There comes a time in every man’s life when he just needs a new damn boat, a point which Curtis Halliday of Shag Harbour has finally reached.
For thirteen years he’s captained the Whispering Hope, a sturdy craft from which he’s trapped lobster, harpooned swordfish and hooked tuna. He’s even retrofitted her, making her longer, wider, and installing live wells to house his caught crustaceans. And by the end of the spring season, she’ll be for sale, her replacement still awaiting assembly.
As Curtis thus far envisions her, his new ship will be 40 feet long in the water with an eight foot overhang, and be 24 feet wide with state-of-the-art live wells, equipped with outstanding filtration and circulation systems, ammonia alarms and other features ensuring the longevity of lobster stored therein. This here will not be a small ship.
“We’ll have a bit more boat under us,” said Curtis, a luxury he can more than justify.
A larger boat can stand up to harsh weather more easily than his relatively modest Whispering Hope, allowing him to stay at sea for perhaps two nights as a time rather than one. It’ll allow him to carry all of his traps at once come setting day, rather than making a second trip to grab the last 75. By the same token he’ll be able to haul up more traps at a time and streamline his work day, saving fuel. This ship comes with piece of mind for him and his crew.=
“In fishing, the vessel is the backbone of your whole enterprise,” said Curtis.
The hull of this new ship, which he’s playfully named the Haul A Day (Halliday), was manufactured by Douglas Mood of MDM Boatbuilders, Wood Harbour. Chris described their product as “one of the more seagoing hulls” of which many people speak highly. When the spring lobster season is through, Curtis and his crew will make a ship out of this hull, and launch the Haul A Day in pursuit of fall lobster.
The financing of his new craft was Curtis’ first experience with the Nova Scotia Fisheries and Aquaculture Loan Board, whose rates even his bank admitted could not be beaten.
“It takes a bit of the pressure off,” he said of the Loan Board’s flexibility. “If you’ve had a bad year, they don’t want to see you fail.”
Fishing is a proud, vibrant industry at the very core of our heritage. It’s woven into the fabric of our province and for the communities and families whose livelihood depend on it – fishing is a way of life.
For the past 10 years, Vern Shea, Vessel Inspector with the Department of Agriculture has visited docks and piers from the picturesque shoreline in Cape Breton to the heart of the world’s largest lobster fishing grounds in Yarmouth.
A seasoned and respected member of the fishing and boat building industries, Vern began his career 44 years ago.
“In the 70’s boat building really took-off,” says Vern. “I began my apprenticeship program in 1974 preparing blueprints in the drawing office of the Pictou Ship Yard.”
Since then, he’s worked in Dubai as a shore engineer assisting in the conversion and refit of two offshore support vessels, completed the engineering, project and construction management for the Ship Hector and prepared working drawings for the Bluenose II, including designing the new rudder.
“All the drawings were drawn by hand on the drawing board for the Bluenose II. I’m one of the last ones around who still does this,” says Vern.
In 2009, he started his career in the public service travelling across the Atlantic Provinces to inspect the construction of new and used fishing vessels.
“On a new build, I inspect the construction every few weeks to ensure it’s being built to regulatory and Loan Board standards. It’s important to visit every couple of weeks so issues or problems can be resolved quickly,” says Vern. “As the build progresses I connect with the Loan Board to let them know they can release the next progress payment so construction can continue.”
If a fisher wants to purchase a used boat Vern says he’ll travel to inspect it and make sure the security is in the boat before lending the money.
“If they want $250K for a used boat I need to make sure that the value is there, and the vessel and its equipment are sound, in some instances recommendations are made to bring the vessel up to Loan Board standards,” says Vern. “If they want a loan to do modifications to their current vessel, I need to make sure there is adequate value in the boat to lend the money to do so.”
The provinces loan board operates like a bank, loaning money to fishers to build, purchase or make modifications to existing vessels as a way to support and grow the industry. Vern says the fishers and builders appreciate the face-to-face contact with someone from the department.
“They enjoy having someone who is well-versed in the industry do the inspections,” says Vern. “We’re able to talk about the build, construction or purchase and support them along their journey.”
Currently, there’s roughly 500 vessels in the province’s portfolio. Every year, he visits these vessels when they’re at the wharfs to make sure they have no major defects or structural concerns and then documents either an appreciation or depreciation in its value.
Reeling in Reward
He shares a story of a young man from Southwest Nova Scotia who contacted him looking to purchase a small fishing vessel to make a living for his family.
“He called me up to come inspect the vessel he was looking at purchasing and I could hear some young kids in the background,” says Vern. “I went and inspected it and chatted with my colleagues back at the department and we loaned the young man the money to purchase the vessel. It wasn’t a pearl and I requested that he and his father do some renovations on the vessel.”
When Vern went back to do his inspection he says he didn’t even recognize the boat!
“He did a remarkable job refitting it, he’s now providing for his young family and making a real go at it,” says Vern. “This is what makes me feel good about my job!”
For many fishers, Vern is their first point of contact when wanting to connect with the department or loan board. His friendly and compassionate personality make him a real asset to the clients he serves. He says what motivates him is simple, “it’s ensuring the fishing industry in our province is sustained by those individuals living, fishing and working in those communities.”
Article written by Corey Aalders, Communications Officer
Kevin King is a man of numbers, a predisposition which led him first to St Mary’s University where he earned a degree in commerce, then to the Municipality of Richmond, Cape Breton Island, where he worked in accounts payable and, among other things, facilitated the sale of property and collected taxes. He was good at it, but throughout his studies and subsequent career, the ocean remained outside his window.
“I always wanted the fishing side of things,” he said, having explored the landlocked ships of relatives as a child and even gotten out a few times in lobster season with friends. By 1996 it was no longer enough to daydream.
That year he bought his first ship, a wooden 29 footer with gasoline engine and no name; he didn’t bother giving it one. It came with a lobster license which, at that time, was nothing to write home about, a relatively affordable privilege in a market which hadn’t yet exploded.
“It maybe wasn’t a smart move at the time because there wasn’t much money in lobster,” he said, “but it paid off.”
Kevin exchanged his nameless ship for the Miss Bethany I, built my the late, and renowned, Stanley Greenwood (“Chainsaw Stan”), his designs so unique they didn’t qualify for financing from several lending institutions, a fact which did nothing to dent his popularity. Seven years ago Kevin upgraded again to the brand new Miss Bethany II, built instead by David MacDonald whose ships are not only widely respected, but meet the standards of the Nova Scotia Fisheries and Aquaculture Loan Board.
The Miss Bethany II, 38.6 feet of fibreglass propelled by a 300 horsepower engine, was purchased with the assistance of the Fisheries Loan Board. Recognizing the hot market for used ships, Kevin sold the Miss Bethany II in summer, 2019, for much more than he’d paid for it seven years previous, applying his commercial prudence. With these funds, and another loan from the Fisheries Loan Board, he commissioned a new ship last fall, the so-called Danny Buoy I, another 38.6 footer with a slightly larger engine and small live well built beneath its rear deck, also a product of David MacDonald.
“I have to say, the Fisheries Loan Board officers I dealt with were extremely helpful,” said Kevin. “Fishing is their thing. At the bank, you’re just a number. If you’re not able to make a payment, I think your chances of making it through hard times are better with the loan board than with the bank. There’s no question.”
The Danny Buoy I is finished, but has yet to be tested at sea in his home harbour of St Peter’s, a rite of passage scheduled for this April, just in time for the spring lobster season. Kevin still works in real estate part time because he enjoys it, and even undertook a scallop farm for a while, but when it comes to lobster fishing, the numbers have always added up.