More than half of the small craft harbours in the path of Fiona in Atlantic Canada and Quebec sustained damage, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).

DFO Minister Joyce Murray released the update Thursday.

Fiona smashed into 180 small craft harbours managed by the department.

Murray said 99 are partially operational, five are unusable and 20 need more assessment.

"This is a period of assessing and supporting where we can and decisions will come after we have some clarity as to the scale of the losses and where they are," Murray said at a briefing on the powerful storm by federal cabinet ministers.

Arisaig, N.S., on the Northumberland Strait, is one of the dozens of damaged harbours.

Both its wharves were underwater at high tide the morning the storm struck. About two dozen fishing boats tie up at Arisaig and all had been pulled out of the water.

"I wouldn't say it's catastrophic, but it is extensive. We're going to need some federal help to get things back in order," said lobster fisherman Patrick Smith as he took a first look at the wharf.

"We lost a gangway, which is not cheap. Some pavement is compromised over there. Whether the deck is gone, we don't know. Nobody knows. Nobody's been in to have a look at it, really," he said.

Nearby Cribbons Point was also slammed.

There, wind ripped the roofs from gear sheds which then blew away a power pole before pieces of roof landed on boats and the wharf below. Ropes, buoys and lobster pots were widely strewn.

Power crews repaired the damaged pole Thursday.

"When it comes to fish harvesters and critical infrastructure like small craft harbours, we will be there for Atlantic Canada and eastern Quebec," she said Thursday. 

"I know the scope of loss for harvesters has been immense, and I've heard from some who've lost more than half their gear."

Another seafood sector is also adding up the losses in northern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton — shellfish aquaculture operations like the oyster farm on Big Island in Pictou County.

Hana Nelson of ShanDaph Oyster Company says shore based equipment and buildings were severely damaged in the storm.

A shucking shed was blown hundreds of metres away.

"This whole shore, which is where our work platforms and gear is, was just gone. We lost about 16 feet of the slipway, which is important for us. It's where we bring in our boats and oysters," she said.

And there was damage in the water as well.

"A lot of our seed oyster is now scattered about. So we lost probably half a million oyster seed," she said.

ShanDaph is one of dozens of oyster and mussel farms in eastern Nova Scotia damaged by Fiona.

The industry is provincially regulated and hopes it will qualify for disaster assistance announced by Premier Tim Houston earlier this week.

"We know the sector is going to need help to recover after this storm," Nova Scotia Fisheries and Aquaculture spokesperson Bruce Nunn said in a statement.

"Minister [Steve] Craig has asked department staff to look at what funding programs are out there already which aquaculture companies might be able to tap into right now, as well as where the gaps are and how they can be addressed."

Paul Withers is an award-winning journalist whose career started in the 1970s as a cartoonist. He has been covering Nova Scotia politics for more than 20 years.

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