Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic

Don’t let the name stop you from a visit at this sweet museum in Lunenburg. The first floor is a small aquarium and the creatures seem to have too little space to be themselves. But the second and third floors are devoted to the seafaring culture of the town and were fascinating. I found the displays, while neither glitsy nor glamorous, to be very appealing. I learned a lot and had fun doing so – everything from the role of the cod fishing industry in the world and history (turns out it was super important to feeding people in Europe – who knew?) to rum runners of the community who sneak alcohol into Canada and the US during prohibition – one was even the police chief. They let little kids launch a big model boat into water as if they were real crew, with hammers and all. And there are two large schooners in the port attached that can be viewed and even ridden. If you like to understand the community you are visiting, I’d encourage a bit of time at this museum. Really glad I did!

If you happen to walking by, sure take a look. It will take you all of 2 minutes to finish the entire thing. Very small and not that interesting. Would not detour for this one!

This place is bigger than it looks. There are two ships docked that you can go on and check out. There is a touch tank on the dock, and lots of other little things on the dock to look at and check out. The museum itself has three floors. The top floor is really a theater kind of deal, but still. The first floor is a small aquarium of different fish you’d probably see in the bay/​waterfront. There are all these plaques with «fun fish fact #» around the museum and you lift up the plaque and it tells you a fun fact. My husband and I tried to read them all, not really sure if we found them all to be honest. The second floor had a lot of different exhibits. Really neat stuff on the second floor. They had barrels they might have used back in the day for salted fish. they’d pressurize the barrels. I didn’t know that. There was a cool wooden fish sculpture up there too done by a local artist. Too many things on the second floor to remember all the details. The boats we got to go on were really fun, though. They had the different rooms set up as though it was still in use. All the cabins were neat. I loved seeing the «mess» room. The table and all the things for condiments and glasses and such were walled in by wood for when there might have been choppy seas. That was cool. The stove had metal boxes around the burners so the pots and pans wouldn’t fall off. I loved seeing the port holes on the boats. Seeing all the fishing nets and ropes they used were pretty cool too. The older boat was cool seeing all the tools they used for fishing and the different compartments in the boat what they were used for. I loved how everyone on the boat had their own trunk. The museum had a pretty big gift shop too. Good time all in all. Definitely a lot to see there.

Unfortunately I went in here not really knowing what I was getting myself into. Warning, as a vegan, this is my true thoughts, many people may not like it but it’s the truth!
To start my visit, you enter into an area with aquariums. Of course, as someone who believes animals should be free, I did my best to grin and bare it. I did enjoy seeing the varieties of species you can see in and around the coasts of Nova Scotia. They had rare lobsters, giant fish and unusual creatures I’ve never laid eyes on before.
When we entered the next room, a worker was giving a talk about lobsters, so we stopped and sat down. I felt bad for the little lobster she had out for her lecture but was happy she was at least loving towards the poor thing. She went on to talk about how lobsters reproduce and how even though they release thousands upon thousands of eggs, normally only between 1 to 10 survive their journey to the surface due to predators. She talks about how rare lobsters really are. I was fascinated until she ended the presentation by telling everyone to check out the seafood restaurant upstairs and get your (murdered) lobster for lunch.
I was admittedly livid at this point. You then walk out onto the docks, the boats are cool and the waterfront itself is beautiful but you walk right by the restaurant where people are consuming once living beings when people just learned about how unique and intelligent they are.
The top floor is all about the history of fishing and how they do it. I walked quickly through and left, disgusted and insanely sick of how disconnected people truly are.
It’s like going to a farm and then watching them slaughter the animals so you can enjoy a steak. Shame on you!

We visited the museum in the winter so there are no guided tours but admission is only $ 4. There is no touch tank either and one of the exhibits was closed for maintenance. The best part is the aquarium exhibit in my opinion — it’s great to see the American eels, halibut, flounder, lobsters, cod, salmon, etc. The second and third floors have ship models, Bluenose memorabilia (famous Canadian ship that won a bunch of races in the 1920s), and an overview of the fishing industry in Lunenburg. One of the most interesting exhibits is on the rum running business during Prohibition which was great. You even find out where the phrase «It’s the real McCoy» comes from!
The gift shop has some fun maritime books and crafty things. The staff are very friendly and told us how to get places and offered us apple cider. This museum is a great place to stop by if you are sightseeing in Lunenburg.

Before you continue to read this review there are a few things you need to understand: 1) I’m terrified of fish, sea mammals, and anything else alive or inanimate that exists underwater, 2) that said, I suffer a fatal attraction that drives me into anything aquarium or sea-​related, 3) my dad is a marine biologist but somehow we have managed to make this work.
Knowing that, you can understand how I ended up at the Fisheries Museum in Lunenburg when I had an hour or two to kill. It’s completely central, impossible to miss, and not very expensive. Even besides the exhibits themselves, they have a pretty cool gift shop that manages to include some locally-​penned kids books and maritime lore that I just love to see.
The museum starts out with an overview of some of the Atlantic sea life that our region is known for including a few species in tanks. While no, they’re not as exciting as reef creatures or Finding Nemo knock-​offs, I loved how the information was positioned and the connections they make to the Atlantic way of life. There are even some rooms showcasing the evolution of fishing tools and how far we’ve come!
The coolest part for me though has to be the sea monsters exhibit. And remembering back to my first two statements, it’s no wonder. Basically I soaked up every story, myth, legend, and artist rendering of real-​life encounters and banked them as reasons to avoid bodies of water including but not limited to seas, lakes, beaches, ponds, rivers, large pools, and sinister looking puddles.
Worth a visit!