Beef Jerky of the Sea

Today, we toured the island called Havre aux Maison. It rained most of the day, so we drove the roads  to get our scenery fix, as opposed to beachcombing or cycling.

But speaking of cycling, we did see 3 people fighting the elements on their bikes, as part of a cycling tour group out of Montreal. They were about our age, and seemed to be struggling. We felt sorry for them.

On a brighter note, along one of the back roads, we came upon a fish drying plant. Apparently, from 1950 to 1990 or so, salting, drying, smoking, and selling herring was big business on the Islands. But then, contributing factors led to the decline. The small Canadian boundary at the time was encroached on by large international boats causing a depletion of fish stocks, then the negative publicity on killing baby seals led to a sharp increase in the seal population that hit the returning fish stocks hard. And finally, the demand for dried fish, largely dried up.

There's still a niche market however, and that keeps this last family operation,  Hareng Boucane Fumoir D'Antan, viable on a small scale. We toured the plant and bought some smoked herring to snack on. It reminds us of beef jerky. It's like beef jerky of the sea.

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http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2015/09/a-sandbox-for-all-ages.html