I enjoyed my years as newspaper correspondent reporting on fish landings and major changes that were taking place, around the local fishing harbours. One interesting reading was the old ”bounty claims” from 1951-1967. Fishermen and their helpers were entitled to a government bounty, provided the boat landed no less than 2,500. pounds of cod and hake. Landings in the area at that time ranged from 140,000 to 160,000 pounds per boat. Bounty time in early spring would see fishermen waiting for days at the Post Office in the village, to see if the bounties had arrived. With no government assistance in those lean years, the bounty checks was a welcome sight to buy supplies to repair

the fishing gear in time for the fishing season. Another interesting story that occurred at Tignish Run in 1950,

was a landing of 32 cod that weighed in at 4,000 pounds. Arthur Pitre and his brother Ben had landed the record catch. In 1983 a newspaper story and picture showed 900,000 pounds of ground fish landed at Tignish fisheries in a day of fishing. This became headline news, as the salting factory was filled to capacity and had to be closed. In 1987 an oversized cod at Seacow Pond harbour weighed in at 54 pounds. In 1989 filleting of flounder was a new and successful process at the fisheries. It was also a record breaking 9 season, with 88 blue fin tuna landed. Fish catches

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