Inaugural release of the Ugjit Mijua’ji’jg


Ugjit Mijua’ji’jg in the Mi’gmaw language means For our children. The name was chosen after a competition held among the children of the community.

It’s not for today that we fish, it’s for the future, it’s for our children todayexplains the head of the Listuguj band council, Darcy Gray.

The boat was painted orange and black in the colors of the Every Child Matters movement in memory of First Nations children who had to attend residential schools.

For Darcy Gray, this new boat symbolizes both the resilience of her community and her culture. Fishing is part of ushe said.

A 4.0 ship

With its 70 cubic meters of hold, the 65-foot (19.81 m) crabber is the third ship in the community built by Chantier naval Forillon. It’s an incredible boat, you can’t compare it to the others. The way it’s built, it’s a different kind of technologycommented the head of the Listuguj band council in an interview, Friday morning, at Bon Pied, early.

Construction of the $4 million ship began last summer and continued through the winter. Just over twenty people worked on it.

The boat will initially be used for crab fishing, but it can be adapted for shrimp or groundfish fishing.

Jean-David Samuel, president and general manager of Chantier naval Forillon, explains that this is the first model of multifunction boat built by the company.

All the lines are passed to put a trawl at the back with an arch, the winches. He could go shrimp or groundfish fishing in half a day of modifications and adding equipmentexplains the CEO of the company.

The wheelhouse equipment is state-of-the-art. It’s more than 2.0, I would say 4.0, with 360 vision, big televisions with touch screens, something very modern, very safe and reliabledescribes Mr. Samuel.

The ship’s bulb has been redesigned to improve its hydrodynamics and longitudinal stability. It’s a success, says the CEO : We did some tests yesterday, it’s going well, it’s very stable, it’s pleasant at sea. It’s exceeded our expectations.

The ship was symbolically painted black and orange in memory of the children who attended residential schools.

We did some tests yesterday, it is fine, it has good stability, it is pleasant at sea, comments the CEO of Chantier naval Forillon.

Photo: Courtesy: Forillon Shipyard

The ship is also equipped with freezing systems which will allow the crew to stay longer at sea, underlines Darcy Gray. The latter also welcomes the fact that the ship will be equipped with a more economical and less polluting engine.

This is the future, adds the CEO of the yard, which is betting heavily on this prototype built for Listuguj. It attracts a lot of attentionobserves Jean-David Samuel. We are already trying to improve it. I think he will make people envious.

The vessel will land its catches at the wharf in Sainte-Thérèse-de-Gaspé.

Baptism of the Ugjit Mijua'ji'jg

The inauguration of the ship took place in the presence of part of the Mi’kmaw community.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Bruno Lelievre

Two other boats were previously built for the community by the Gaspé shipyard, where Friday was the time for celebrations between customers and the company. Our employees, our families, it is worth thanking the workers and customers who have trusted usargues Jean-David Samuel.

A construction site full of projects

Fishing is changing a lot. Darcy Gray estimates that among the eight boats in her community, others will soon need to be replaced. The community, which has been investing in commercial fishing for 21 years now, also plans to focus on groundfish.

The Gaspé shipyard is also keeping an eye on the redfish fishery, which should be relaunched in the next two or three years. A new model of vessel adapted to this fishery is almost ready, says Jean-David Samuel: We have almost finished a super nice hull, a design for redfish fishing, with onboard conservation that will allow the fish to be kept much more colorful, much longer.

The yard builds approximately one fishing boat per year.

In 2015, the company also won a major contract from the Canadian Coast Guard for the construction of six search and rescue vessels. Four other boats were added to the order in 2018. The sixth ship in the series will also leave the yard next week.



Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca

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