Fund established for families of missing Nova Scotia scallop fishermen

No search for missing fishermen Monday The ground search for the five missing fishermen is done indefinitely due to safety.

YARMOUTH, N.S. — A fishing industry association in southwestern Nova Scotia has set up a fund to collect donations for the families of six men who were lost after their scallop dragger sank last week.

The Full Bay Scallop Association as well as Yarmouth Sea Products, the company that owned the 15-metre scallop dragger called Chief William Saulis, have opened an account with the Coastal Financial Credit Union.

Donations can be made starting Monday to the "Chief William Saulis Benevolent Fund" at any Credit Union branch across the Atlantic provinces; disbursement of the funds will be managed by a recognized charitable organization.

A GoFundMe page has also been created for the families and money collected through that page will be added to the main Credit Union account.

The vessel, which operated out of Digby, N.S., is believed to have capsized last Tuesday with the loss of Captain Charles Roberts and crew members Leonard Gabriel, Aaron Cogswell, Eugene Francis, Dan Forbes, and Mike Drake -- the only one of the six crew whose body has been recovered.

The RCMP said Monday its search was continuing but that it suspended its air operation for the day because a helicopter was unavailable.

Police said an unsuccessful helicopter search on Sunday covered about 100 kilometres of coastline between Digby Gut and Harbourville.

On Saturday, the RCMP said it found debris on shore but didn't know whether it is linked to the missing vessel. The force had said it was working with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada to determine if the debris is related.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec., 21, 2020.