This is the first in my series of images of fishing weirs of Grand Manan, Deer Island and Compobello Island in New Brunswick Canada. I became fascinated with fishing weirs over a year ago and took a trip to the Bay of Fundy to photograph them in July/August.
Herring Cove, Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada.
Weir fishing is a very old method of fishing - the stakes of an ancient fishing weir have been found near to the Bay of Fundy, in Maine, dating back over 5,000 years - and it has been practiced around the world in almost all seaside and riverine cultures going back millennia. Despite challenges, weir fishing continues to be practiced around the largest Bay of Fundy Islands (Grand Manan, Campobello and Deer Island), defying predictions over 40 years ago that it was about to die out. The herring may not come in the same numbers as they used to, but older weirs continue to be maintained and a few new weirs are being built in the hopes of big herring catches. The two weirs (this being one of them) were actually built quite recently. The herring weirs are made from 40-70 foot long stakes pounded into the ocean floor, top poles (thinner, lighter birch or aspen poles around 12- 18 feet tall) and are hung with twine nets (though on this one you can only see a few top poles and there are no nets on it yet). When herring come in to the coastal areas in their huge shoals (at times, reportedly up to 9 miles long!), they are directed, by a fence attached to the shore, which you can see here, into the weir where they are trapped. Although all weirs follow the same principle, each is unique, its shape dictated by the currents and counter-currents, the type of sea bottom (sand or rock) and whether or not it has an additional pen for holding herring.
If you would like to read about my trip through the largest Bay of Fundy islands of Grand Manan, Deer Island and Compobello Island, take a look at the blog post about my Bay of Fundy Islands trip. There is a an album for the fishing weir series, but you can also look at image from my trips to the Canadian Maritimes going back to 2014.
Website | Blog | Instagram
Tags: Campobello Island Herring Cove New Brunswick Herring Herring Weir Weir Fishing Weir Canada
© All Rights Reserved
This is Jubilee Weir in Whale Cove, on Grand Manan Island. All weirs have names and I read that Jubilee weir was named for Queen Victoria's Jubilee (1897), not Queen Elizabeth's (who did have a 25th Jubilee in 1977). I'm not sure if that's true, but no matter how old it is, it sure is a beauty.
I shot this early one morning, just as the sun was rising. I had hiked down a trail in the semi-darkness to get to this outlook and when I did I heard this strange noise that made me think that someone else was standing on the cliff near me. Instead, though, when I looked down, I realized it was four seals playing around the entrance to the weir. They were, like the fishermen, waiting for the herring to arrive.
Whale Cove, Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick, Canada.
Weir fishing is a very old method of fishing - the stakes of an ancient fishing weir have been found near to the Bay of Fundy, in Maine, dating back over 5,000 years - and it has been practiced around the world in almost all seaside and riverine cultures going back millennia. Despite challenges, weir fishing continues to be practiced around the largest Bay of Fundy Islands (Grand Manan, Campobello and Deer Island), defying predictions over 40 years ago that it was about to die out. The herring may not come in the same numbers as they used to, but older weirs continue to be maintained and a few new weirs are being built in the hopes of big herring catches. The herring weirs are made from 40-70 foot long stakes pounded into the ocean floor, top poles (thinner, lighter birch or aspen poles around 12- 18 feet tall) and are hung with twine nets. When herring come in to the coastal areas in their huge shoals they are directed, by a fence attached to the shore, into the weir where they are trapped. Although all weirs follow the same principle, each is unique, its shape dictated by the currents and counter-currents, the type of sea bottom (sand or rock) and whether or not it has an additional pen for holding herring.
If you would like to read about my trip through the largest Bay of Fundy islands of Grand Manan, Deer Island and Compobello Island, take a look at the blog post about my Bay of Fundy Islands trip. There is a an album for the fishing weir series, but you can also look at image from my trips to the Canadian Maritimes going back to 2014.
Website | Blog | Instagram
Tags: Fishing Weir Grand Manan Herring Weir Jubilee Weir New Brunswick Whale Cove Canada
© All Rights Reserved
This image was taken in the lovely Pettes Cove on Grand Manan Island on the very first evening of my trip. In the foreground (and to the right) is the Cora Belle weir and behind and to the left is the Intruder weir. The Cora Belle has been around since the 1930s and I was lucky enough to meet Bradley Small, whose father bought the Cora Belle in the late 60s, who fished it his whole life and whose son now fishes it.
The weirs look so different in different tides. Here we are near to high tide and just the tips of the weir stakes and the top poles are visible. I hear that, even now, in September (late in the season) the twine is not up on the Cora Belle, as the herring have not yet come to this side of the island in large numbers. She still looks beautiful nonetheless.
Pettes Cove, Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick, Canada.
Weir fishing is a very old method of fishing - the stakes of an ancient fishing weir have been found near to the Bay of Fundy, in Maine, dating back over 5,000 years - and it has been practiced around the world in almost all seaside and riverine cultures going back millennia. Despite challenges, weir fishing continues to be practiced around the largest Bay of Fundy Islands (Grand Manan, Campobello and Deer Island), defying predictions over 40 years ago that it was about to die out. The herring may not come in the same numbers as they used to, but older weirs continue to be maintained and a few new weirs are being built in the hopes of big herring catches. The herring weirs are made from 40-70 foot long stakes pounded into the ocean floor, top poles (thinner, lighter birch or aspen poles around 12- 18 feet tall) and are hung with twine nets. When herring come in to the coastal areas in their huge shoals they are directed, by a fence attached to the shore, into the weir where they are trapped. Although all weirs follow the same principle, each is unique, its shape dictated by the currents and counter-currents, the type of sea bottom (sand or rock) and whether or not it has an additional pen for holding herring.
If you would like to read about my trip through the largest Bay of Fundy islands of Grand Manan, Deer Island and Compobello Island, take a look at the blog post about my Bay of Fundy Islands trip. There is a an album for the fishing weir series, but you can also look at image from my trips to the Canadian Maritimes going back to 2014.
Website | Blog | Instagram
Tags: Canada Cora Belle Weir Fishing Weir Grand Manan Herring Weir New Brunswick Pettes Cove
© All Rights Reserved
This is the Intruder weir in Pettes Cove (you could see it on the left in my previous image). The image was taken as I balanced precariously on the cliffs around Swallowtail lighthouse. The lighthouse was closed for renovations, as was the area around it, but I was lucky to get special permission to photograph there one evening. I'm not really afraid of heights, but balancing my tripod on the rocky cliffs, shooting almost straight down and then trying to put on and take off the ND filters, was a little scary. Luckily, I made it back unscathed!
When I was doing research on fishing weirs, they were often described as "heart-shaped". When seeing them from their level, that's hard to see, but you can see it here.
Pettes Cove, Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick, Canada.
Weir fishing is a very old method of fishing - the stakes of an ancient fishing weir have been found near to the Bay of Fundy, in Maine, dating back over 5,000 years - and it has been practiced around the world in almost all seaside and riverine cultures going back millennia. Despite challenges, weir fishing continues to be practiced around the largest Bay of Fundy Islands (Grand Manan, Campobello and Deer Island), defying predictions over 40 years ago that it was about to die out. The herring may not come in the same numbers as they used to, but older weirs continue to be maintained and a few new weirs are being built in the hopes of big herring catches. The herring weirs are made from 40-70 foot long stakes pounded into the ocean floor, top poles (thinner, lighter birch or aspen poles around 12- 18 feet tall) and are hung with twine nets. When herring come in to the coastal areas in their huge shoals they are directed, by a fence attached to the shore, into the weir where they are trapped. Although all weirs follow the same principle, each is unique, its shape dictated by the currents and counter-currents, the type of sea bottom (sand or rock) and whether or not it has an additional pen for holding herring.
If you would like to read about my trip through the largest Bay of Fundy islands of Grand Manan, Deer Island and Compobello Island, take a look at the blog post about my Bay of Fundy Islands trip. There is a an album for the fishing weir series, but you can also look at image from my trips to the Canadian Maritimes going back to 2014.
Website | Blog | Instagram
Tags: Canada Fishing Weir Grand Manan Herring Weir New Brunswick Pettes Cove The Intruder Weir
© All Rights Reserved
A closer-up view of one of the two newer fishing weirs at Herring Cove.
Herring Cove, Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada.
Weir fishing is a very old method of fishing - the stakes of an ancient fishing weir have been found near to the Bay of Fundy, in Maine, dating back over 5,000 years - and it has been practiced around the world in almost all seaside and riverine cultures going back millennia. Despite challenges, weir fishing continues to be practiced around the largest Bay of Fundy Islands (Grand Manan, Campobello and Deer Island), defying predictions over 40 years ago that it was about to die out. The herring may not come in the same numbers as they used to, but older weirs continue to be maintained and a few new weirs are being built in the hopes of big herring catches. The herring weirs are made from 40-70 foot long stakes pounded into the ocean floor, top poles (thinner, lighter birch or aspen poles around 12- 18 feet tall) and are hung with twine nets. When herring come in to the coastal areas in their huge shoals they are directed, by a fence attached to the shore, into the weir where they are trapped. Although all weirs follow the same principle, each is unique, its shape dictated by the currents and counter-currents, the type of sea bottom (sand or rock) and whether or not it has an additional pen for holding herring.
If you would like to read about my trip through the largest Bay of Fundy islands of Grand Manan, Deer Island and Compobello Island, take a look at the blog post about my Bay of Fundy Islands trip. There is a an album for the fishing weir series, but you can also look at image from my trips to the Canadian Maritimes going back to 2014.
Website | Blog | Instagram
Tags: Campobello Island Canada Fishing Weir Herring Cove Herring Weir New Brunswick
© All Rights Reserved