'It's so sad': Acadian Peninsula mourns deaths of 2 lobster fishermen
New Brunswick's Acadian Peninsula is in mourning after two local fishermen died Saturday on the first day of the lobster season in the area.
The fishermen died after falling overboard in the waters off Miscou Island.
Radio-Canada confirmed the names of the two men Sunday. They are 58-year-old Eugene Beaudin and his nephew, 23-year-old Normand Beaudin.
Both men are from Miscou.
Gilles Hebert, a former fisherman of 22 years, said the deaths will hit the community hard.
"It's so sad," he said Sunday. "We're all people who know each other. When we hear that someone drowned, we're all touched by that."
Jean Lanteigne, general manager of the Regional Federation of Professional Fishermen, agreed.
"It's very sad to see two families losing their relatives," said Lanteigne.
A spokesperson for the Maritime Fishermen's Union told Radio-Canada it would have no comment out of respect for the families.
Lanteigne said now it is important to find out what happened.
In a statement Saturday, the RCMP said the Transportation Safety Board has been called in to investigate the incident.
CBC News has reached out to the board but hasn't heard back.
Season goes on
The lobster season in the area had been delayed by a week because of poor weather conditions.
Saturday morning saw generally calm seas. Lanteigne called it a "perfect day."
"No wind, the sun was out, it was very, very nice," said Lanteigne.
"Everybody was at the wharf taking fantastic pictures of the boats leaving ... everybody was happy."
But Hebert said the wind picked up for a few hours and that matched up with the time of the incident.
"Maybe if the start was delayed by a couple of hours, two lives would have been saved, but that's just what it is," said Hebert.
"Fishing is a wonderful profession, but it's a dangerous one."
While the area is no stranger to this type of tragedy, lobster fishing continued Sunday. Many fishermen set off to the Gulf of St. Lawrence less than 24 hours after the deaths of their fellow fishermen.
Eric Mallet, the MLA for Shippagan-Lamèque-Miscou, said fishermen will remember their lost comrades, but the season will go on.
"The world continues to turn," said Mallet. "They will still continue to fish."
