Chester McCarthy
Of the fishing co-operatives on the Island, the largest, oldest, and most successful is
the Tignish Fisheries Co-op which was started in 1924 by 36 fishermen and one local
lawyer, Chester McCarthy. By the year 1923, mainland buyers were paying 15 cents for
lobster, but local fishermen were getting only five cents. At that price, there was no
hope for them of getting out of debt. It was Chester McCarthy who brought these
fishermen into a joint stock company which gave its members a buying and selling power
no individual could exert. Together they formed the Fishermen's Co-operative. In the late 1960's, the Co-op was 220 members strong. Although today, the Co-op does not hold as many members as it once did, it does employ anywhere from 350 to 400 workers.
In 1995, Royal Star Foods Ltd. Fisheries was constructed as a subsidiary of Tignish Fisheries Co-op Association Ltd. Its modern plant has facilities for scanning and freezing lobsters, cold storage for holding the frozen product, a direct sale outlet for fresh fish and buildings for salting and pickling fish.