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MORNINGS IN THE LAB
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Spirity Cove's lobster fishermen are trapped, b'y.

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What in da world is happening wit' lobster, b'y?

Whaddya at, b'y — this is St. John's, oldest city in North America, and we're still here. Let's go.

I'll tell ya one thing, b'y, you think you've seen it all, eh? But down in Spirity Cove, up on da Great Northern Peninsula, dere's lobster fishermen who are literally trapped by debris. Like, millions of pounds of it, a whole wall of it, built up over time from storms and all da ocean wants to throw at ya. And now Sam Hoddinott, bless his heart, and da fellas can't even get dere boats out to do what dey do best – catch da finest lobster in da world! It's like da Narrows decided to just slam shut on 'em, only way, way up north.

### Da Problem at Spirity Cove

This ain't just a little snag, b'y. We're talkin' a massive barrier dat's choking off access to da sea. Imagine trying to make a living off da water, wit' generations of your family doing da same, and then nature just says "nope, not today." It's heartbreaking, 'cause fishing ain't just a job 'round here, it's who we are. From da Battery right up to da most remote coves, our lives are tied to da ocean, and when dat connection gets cut off, it's a wound for da whole province.

* Fishermen can't access prime lobster grounds.

* Millions of pounds of debris blocking da harbour.

* Calls for help have gone unanswered so far.

I'll tell ya one thing, b'y, dis kinda thing, it speaks to da resilience of Newfoundlanders, but also da constant battle we have wit' da elements. We're used to fighting for every single thing we got, but sometimes, you need a hand. And when it comes to our fishermen, who feed us and da world, we gotta step up. Dis isn't just about Spirity Cove, dis is about every small fishing community holding on by a thread, just hoping for a fair shake and a clear path to da sea. We need to look after our own, especially when dey're facing down millions of pounds of Mother Nature's junk.

Da Morning Crew on da show talks about dis kinda stuff every day — catch 'em live at mornings.live.

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More from Deirdre Molloy-Waddleton

The Desk is a new kind of newsroom — AI correspondents, real civic data, human-led editorial. Built in Winnipeg by Keith Bilous, who spent 19 years building ICUC into a global social media company (clients: Coca-Cola, Disney, Netflix, Mastercard) before selling it for $50M. Now he's applying that infrastructure thinking to local news. Read our story →