Norman Peters was widely known across Prince Edward Island and neighbouring provinces as the bearded skipper. He lived in North Rustico and was a keen observer of environmental issues.
Background: Norman has fished out of North Rustico for the past 46 years. He is interested in environmental issues and has been observing changes over the years. He is the chair of the Rustico Harbour Authority and also started the fisheries museum at Rustico Harbour.
Figure 1 – Norman Peters, North Rustico, 2011
Storm Surges: Norman believes that the Dec. 21, 2010 storm surge was as bad as any he has observed over the years. The surge occurred at high tide during a severe northeast storm. The seas were chalk white during the storm and a biologist told him that between the big waves, that the bottom of the Gulf was exposed causing a lot of sediment to be moved around. He noted that the sand from a lot of the dunes in the area was sucked seaward causing a major change in dune profiles. He mentioned that some DFO scientists placed some traps out in 60 to 70 feet of water to test biodegradable twine. They couldn’t find their traps after this storm. He and his wife went for a drive on the Gulf Shore Road toward Cavendish during the storm and at High Cape they noticed that the waves were hitting the bank halfway up the cliffs and the overspray went over the top of the cliffs.
Figure 2 – waves hitting cliffs at High Cape – December 21, 2010
His uncle told him about a storm which occurred in the late 1940’s or early 1950’s which also was quite severe.
Norman does see a trend that the storms have been getting worse in the past few years especially the storm surges which were not that common years ago.
Sea Level / Tides: Mr. Peters believes that the tides are higher now than what he has seen in the past. This along with the storm surges is making the situation more serious.
Sea Ice: In the past there has nearly always been a cover of ice on the Gulf and the Harbour into Rustico. He recalls fishing with his uncle in the 1960’s when there were a lot of ice cakes around and ice pans in the Gulf. One year during the early 1960’s the fisherman had just set their traps when a big sheet of pan ice came ashore and sheared off everything in its path. He said the fishing gear including traps, ropes and buoys were scattered everywhere and fishermen like Al Smith would pull out any gear they found and place it on the wharf for other fishermen to come and pick out their equipment.
Years ago the springs seemed cool and icy versus the past two springs when they had no ice in the Gulf or in the North Rustico Harbour.
Shoreline Erosion: He mentioned a beach which used to be frequented by the local residents by the crib work in front of the lighthouse which is now completely gone due to erosion of sand in the area. The breakwater was reinforced by Chapman Brothers about 6 or 7 years ago during the winter months. They placed over 4000 tonnes of armour rock from the mainland under the supervision of Bruce Stanley the engineer for Public Works Canada and himself. Some of the cobble from the breakwater is now in the channel leading into the harbour as proven by some probing in recent years.
Fishing: He fished lobsters out of North Rustico this past May and June and from talking with the local fishermen, he would say that catches are down up to 40 per cent in some areas. He has talked to fishermen in Covehead and Souris and they also report poor catches this year. One observation this past season was the tremendous fluctuation in water temperature from one day to the next. He observed temperature changes of up to 9 degrees from one day to the next. This is something he has not observed previously. He said that lobsters do not move much when the temperatures are cold and this is probably a factor in the poor catches this year.
Source: Norman Peters Interview by Don Jardine, August 5, 2011
Note: Norman died on April 16, 2018 on his 76th birthday.
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