YARMOUTH, N.S. -- RCMP say a 20-year-old Nova Scotia fisherman who went overboard Saturday southwest of Yarmouth is presumed drowned.
Officials say the search for Michael Jeffrey Doucette from Wedgeport was called off Sunday morning.
Lt.-Cmdr. Bruno Tremblay, a spokesman for the navy in Halifax, says rescue crews made the difficult decision around 9 a.m. after scouring the waters for more than 14 hours.
Tremblay says the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax was called around 7 p.m. Saturday with reports of a fisherman going overboard off a boat named "Row, Row."
He says they immediately launched a Cormorant helicopter and a Hercules aircraft as well as two Canadian Coast Guard vessels, which were later joined by more than 20 ships volunteering for the search.
"It's very sad," Tremblay said. "We were in touch with the next of kin all along and it was a very difficult decision to do but it's standard protocols."
