More than 100 lobster traps destroyed by weekend storm

More than 100 damaged lobster traps washed ashore after a powerful storm struck the northeast coast of New Brunswick on Friday.

The traps were found mangled and destroyed on the beach at Val Comeau and other nearby areas on the Acadian Peninsula, south of Tracadie, on Sunday morning.

James MacEachern, a fisherman who lives in Tabusintac on the north side of Miramichi Bay, saw the storm evolving early Friday morning.

"When I went out in the morning, it was already rough," MacEachern said. "Probably four in the morning, [the storm] had already started."

The storm consisted of heavy rain and strong winds that hit Zone 23, an area which stretches from Campbellton to south of Miramichi along the coast.

Dozens of fishermen are trying to locate their traps, which have been wrecked and swept away by the storm.

"Some of them are out today to take out the traps because they're tangled and they're going up and down and it's dangerous," MacEachern said.

Lyne Robichaud of the Maritime Fishermen's Union said that although the fishermen are using GPS to locate their traps, they are likely to be farther away from the exact location. She said it's too soon to know exactly how many traps have been lost as damage is till being assessed.

This year, the lobster fishing season began late in some northeastern communities because of high winds.

Now with the season ending on June 30th, MacEachern said there's no way to repair or replace all of the damaged traps.

Strong winds are expected to blow in the same area overnight and into Tuesday.

"We won't be going out tomorrow," MacEachern said. "It's supposed to hit tonight, overnight, tomorrow morning again."