The MV Miner, a former Great Lakes firefighter ship that crashed off the east coast of Cape Breton may not be removed until the spring.
The ship was grounded while being towed to a foreign scrapyard.
The bad weather continues to deteriorate the ship's hull, making it look all the more like a wreck.
"The hole wasn't there last week. That happened since the last north wind we had. And she's beat more down there on that side than she was last week too," said Herman Wadden, a local fisherman.
Wadden worries the ship, which will most likely never float again, could affect fishing stocks in the area.
The ship was stripped of pollutants and is not considered a hazard to navigation. However, neither federal nor provincial authorities have revealed any plans on how it might be salvaged.
Josephine Kennedy, representative for the local fisheries group that represents over 60 licensed fishermen, says action should have been taken sooner.
"The government is passing the buck, passing the buck," she says. "And saying they're going to wait until the spring. Well, waiting till the spring is too late. That ship should have come out of there almost immediately."
The ship, which has already been stripped of a part of its hull, now faces more deterioration with harsh winter conditions on the way.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald.
