Crushing ice puts home-bound N.L. sealers at risk

The ice that prevented some Newfoundland and Labrador fishermen from reaping benefits in this year's seal hunt has continued to wreak havoc, five days after the hunt took place.

Heaving ice continued Wednesday to put dozens of longliners at risk of being damaged or even crushed as they tried to free themselves from icy grips along Newfoundland's northeast coast.

From the Northern Peninsula to CapeSt. Francis on the east coast,more than100 vessels have been stranded by heavy ice, said Capt. Brian Penney, superintendent of ice operations with the Canadian Coast Guard.

Penney, who described ice conditions as "more severe" than seen in many years, said they have been so heavy that the coast guard vessel Sir Wilfred Grenfell was itself stuck early Wednesday after rescuing a longliner near Fogo Island.

The crew of another ice-blocked longliner nearby has gone to another sealing vessel, said search and rescue official Merv Wiseman.

"Their vessel is just rafting out and listing," Wiseman told CBC News Wednesday morning.

"We couldn't get an aircraft in the area. We had to stand it down because of freezing rain," he said.

To help aid the stranded fishermen, the coast guard is diverting a vessel that had been patrolling Quebec's Lower North Shore.

Scores of fishing vessels many of which were never able to reach harp seal herds during last Friday's hunt have reported being stranded in the days since.

Gill Cadwell and his fellow crew members on the longliner Southern Pride have been stuck in ice in the Strait of Belle Isle for a week. The pressure of heavy ice, he said, crushed a speedboat and pushed the main vessel up "high and dry" for a period of time.

"My son there's nothing you can do except watch," he told CBC News on Wednesday morning.

'In the wrong place each time'

"I've never, ever experienced nothing like this. We've been in the wrong place each time," he said, describing the ice-bound troubles of the last week.

To add insult to injury, Cadwell said, he and his fellow crew were unable to hunt any seals this season.

Tony Penton, who fishes from the Fogo Island community of Joe Batt's Arm, considers himself lucky because he was able to break through ice and join a convoy headed for shore late Monday.

"It wasn't too bad for me. We had some larger boats ahead of us, so we just followed their track," said Penton, adding ice conditions were so bad that some vessels were lucky to get to the hunt and back at all.