Major fire damages fish processing plant on Grand Manan Island

A major fire has damaged a fish processing plant on New Brunswick’s Grand Manan Island.

The fire started early Monday afternoon at Special K Fisheries in the community of North Head, which is adjacent to the Grand Manan Ferry dock.

Ferry passengers said smoke from the fire could be seen for kilometres.

The ferry docked at North Head at 3:30 p.m., but passengers were delayed unloading. Ferry service was scheduled to resume at 7:15 p.m.

Volunteer firefighters were on scene for hours battling the fire.

There has been no reports of any injuries.

There is no word on the extent of the damage, or the cause of the fire.

Bonnie H. Morse, the village's mayor, said if the plant is lost it could have repercussions throughout the community, as the local economy is based on fishing and aquaculture.

“Because this was a family business,” said Morse in an interview with CTV on Tuesday. “Two or three generations were there working together, so to see this happen to a family-run business, it’s really tough as a community.”