Hauling the Boat, Huyck’s Point, 1921 - Manley Macdonald (used with permission)

“A Lifetime Upon These Waters: An Oral History of Prince Edward County’s  Vibrant Commercial Fishery”

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Suzanne Pasternak, a recent newcomer to Prince Edward County’s South Shore, began documenting through photos, videos and conversations the stories of her neighbouring fishing families. Most of them fished out of Point Traverse harbour where a seasonal fishing village had been established for over 200 years. Suzanne recognized that she was witnessing not only an extraordinary cultural history, but also a vanishing legacy. Changes to the fishery, the ecology of the lake and the ownership of Point Traverse itself meant that the fishing village’s days and the lifestyle of the fisher folk were numbered.

Point Traverse Fishing Village, photos: collection of Suzanne Pasternak

In 2018 South Shore Joint Initiative joined Suzanne to continue the task of documenting the commercial fishery stories. The planned volume titled A Lifetime Upon These Waters: An Oral History of Prince Edward County’s

Vibrant Commercial Fishery will encompass excerpts from the work Suzanne did in the 80s and 90s as well as many new interviews and photos. 

Photo: Suzanne Pasternak

An archive of the material will be deposited in the Prince Edward County Archives at the Wellington Library. We hope the book and the archive will be completed in 2026.

The growing archive includes interviews with over 20 different members of fishing families, many of whom have fished for five generations, a boat builder, a representative from the Glenora Fishery Lake Ontario Management Unit, a family -run fish processing operation and stories from people outside of the fishery who deeply admire the fishermen and women they have known. Also, the archive contains hundreds of photographs and other documents, many provided by the fishing families themselves.

Photo: Suzanne Pasternak

The fishing people we have interviewed are brilliant mariners and seasoned navigators who have learned to respond to the unpredictable nature of Lake Ontario. They are intimately aware of how it is changing. In addition, they are impressive small business owners who are constantly adapting to the demands of regulation, availability of fish and changes to the marketplace. Many are innovative craftspeople who make, design, adapt and repair much of the equipment they use. They are fiercely independent, extremely self-reliant and proud of their legacy. They are people who love the lake because they have lived and depended upon it, observing its changes and all of the life connected to it. They want the fishery, and the abundance of the lake that allows it, to continue.

Photo: Suzanne Pasternak

Despite enormous pressure and change, a vibrant commercial fishery still exists in Prince Edward County. The stories we have collected show a picture of a way of life - an industry - that was and continues to be a formative part of Prince Edward County’s cultural history.

South Shore Joint Initiative is grateful for Suzanne Pasternak’s decades of  work documenting and communicating in song, video and print this important aspect of Prince Edward County marine history. We are also grateful for the Canada Summer Youth Employment grants that have allowed us to hire our invaluable team members for three summers. We deeply appreciate project grants from the Municipality of Prince Edward and from Picton Rotary and the generous support of PEC Archives, County Magazine and the numerous individuals who have enthusiastically helped us with this project. 


For more information: Amy Bodman