There was a little bit of confusion in the Town of Shediac last week.
Hub City Foodies founder Jason Gallant posted a tongue-in-cheek video on social media that some people fell for, including this intrepid reporter.
“Sad breaking news from the small Town of Shediac New Brunswick,” Gallant posted. “As residents drove by the famous big lobster they quickly noticed that Frank the Fisherman was no longer there.”
Gallant said he wanted to try to so something fun in light of all the serious news lately, but he wanted the joke to be plausible.
“Maybe people in Shediac wouldn’t notice the fisherman gone, so that was the idea,” said Gallant.
Officials with the town then posted their own message on social media saying foul play was not suspected.
“The fisherman hasn’t disappeared, he’s just been in ‘rehab’ mode with his physiotherapist,” said the town’s post. “For the past few years, he’s been getting massages, stretches and advice on how not to collapse under the weight of 35 years of staring at the horizon.”
Gallant’s post has gone viral with more than 135,000 views on TikTok and over 105,000 on Instagram and he’s fooled more than a few people.
He ended the video with a plug for a local business. He said the fisherman probably wanted to try Halo Donuts – which just opened a new location in Shediac.
“Looking at the comments it looks like there was a bunch of people from Shediac that were saying, ‘Hey, I didn’t even notice. I drove by this morning. What happened to him? Where is he? Are they fixing him? What’s going on with the old fisherman?’” said Gallant
Shediac Mayor Roger Caissie assures residents the iconic fisherman is just fine.
“He hasn’t disappeared. Hasn’t moved an inch. He’s part of the big lobster here,” said Caissie. “We probably couldn’t move him if we wanted to.”
Caissie said the giant lobster sculpture is definitely the most photographed crustacean in the world since it was installed in 1990, but his fisherman companion who looks over the Bay of Shediac gets overlooked.
“Here’s the real scoop: nobody knows his real name!” said the town’s post. “He’s spent 35 years being called ‘the fisherman’ and he’s fed up. He wants a real name or a nickname. In short, he needs you to find him a name!”
In response to the video, Shediac’s communication staff started an online ‘Let’s find a name for the fisherman’ contest.
Lenny’s Take Out owner Jamie Dionne said the fisherman deserves a proper name.
“He’s been part of Shediac history for a long time,” said Dionne after someone suggested Gilligan. “Gilligan, I like that one, but I can’t think of one off hand, no.”
Denis Breau at the Big Fish seafood market said he thinks ‘Mr. Shediac’ is the ideal name.
Mayor Caissie wasn’t so sure.
“Hard to say, definitely not mine,” Caissie said.
Gallant thinks Frank the Fisherman kind of works.
“Somebody said they would name it after me, Jason,” Gallant said. “I think that’s a little weird.”
Caissie said the town’s social media post received a lot of attention and he doesn’t mind that Gallant pulled the wool over a few people’s eyes.
“No, no. Absolutely not,” said Caissie. “We’ve gotten well over 9,000 views of our own ad. It’s all in good fun and as you can see the fisherman will be here for many, many years to come.”
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