Living the lifestyle

This weekend has been very successful, with Kiley and I visiting and having great talks with many more crab fishermen. I am enjoying visiting them and their families in their homes and having cups of tea! Many have noted how they appreciate us coming to talk to them in person and not just on the phone, and for me this trip has been invaluable for this. I would not have been able to capture a fraction of the great information I have had if I had not been here. Also, it has helped me to put everything into context and really get a complete picture of what the industry think and know about fisheries and conservation.

The Alexis hotel that we are staying at has become a home away from home. I can come on into the kitchen, and make my own cup of tea, so this is perfect. Today we went to Aubreys house to talk more with him about everything. Aubrey is the fisherman who is my industry partner on my project so we have spent a lot of time with him and his wife Pauline. We were so happy to be invited to have sunday dinner with them and enjoyed good home cooked food, a wonderful local berry dessert, and great company! After this I did a bit more of my amateur filmmaking and took some footage of Aubrey talking about the new fish plant and the Hawke Channel down by the frozen dock, the sun was out and this looked great.

After a great day, we then got picked up on snowmobiles by Dennis and Bill, two fishermen that we have been talking with, and this was just in time for sunset. Apart from a very quick go in the past, this was my first chance to be on a Ski Doo, we rode out across the frozen bay and went to see their dogs. It seems so strange to be able to ride across a bay, and it is so frozen it becomes almost like a motorway/ highway as people go zipping on by.

Snowmobile riding on the frozen bay!

They both have around 10 huskys each and these are for dog sledding. We couldn't go out as the ground is too icy still but we got to see them all, and stroke them, see them get fed etc. and have a good chat about it all. The dogs were all very happy to see us, their fur is so thick too, they are certainly perfectly suited to this environment, unlike me!

visiting the dog sled team huskys, and for me, trying to look not cold in -20!

One of the puppy's, Always so cute!

So a great weekend, with a good mix of fishermen interviews, and getting involved in the local life and culture. We have a couple more days left and are looking forward to being able to collect lots more information before we leave.

I am enjoying Labrador so very much, it really is a wonderful area here, and although I am not cold adapted in any way, cannot walk on ice very well and am only just learning how to properly dress for these temperatures, it is a lot of fun, and beautifully sunny, crisp and cold!