Thousands of lobster traps scattered by Fiona still missing
5,000 to 7,000 traps were lost in LFA 25, which covers most of Northumberland Strait
Clarification: A previous version of this story included an early estimate by the Maritime Fishermens' Union of the number of lobster traps lost to Fiona. The union has since revised this number downward to between 5,000 and 7,000, of which roughly 2,800 have been recovered.
The massive cleanup and recovery operation to find the thousands of traps lost during post-tropical storm Fiona in September has only turned up a small number so far.
The Maritime Fishermen's Union is leading the cleanup taking place in LFA 25, a lobster fishing zone that takes in a good portion of the Northumberland Strait.
The union told Radio-Canada that 1,000 traps have been found so far.
Luc LeBlanc, fisheries adviser for the union, said the cleanup and recovery mission will be a long one.
Each trap is worth about $300, so the loss is a major financial hit for the industry.
LeBlanc said he expects the operation to locate the missing traps could take up to two weeks.
With files from Radio-Canada