By David Judd
A piece of Long Point’s fishing history will be displayed in a pavilion to be built in Port Rowan by the bay.
You might not have heard of the Becker Puller but 100 years ago it was the latest technology for seine net fishing.
The inventor was Charlie Becker, a store owner in Port Rowan and a relative of Abigail Becker, the Heroine of Long Point famous for saving eight sailors from drowning after their boat ran aground.
The Puller did just that — pulled seine nets from the lake mechanically, saving all kinds of labour.
Previously, the quarter-mile-long nets were pulled to shore by hand.
The Port Rowan/South Walsingham Heritage Association has acquired one of the last existing Pullers and it’s in close to original condition.
The association is joining with Norfolk County to display the Puller in a 10-foot by 16-foot wood and glass pavilion to be built in Port Rowan’s Lions Park near the harbour.
The 240-member heritage association has raised $45,000 toward the estimated $87,000 cost to build the pavilion in time for opening in summer 2026.
County councillors on Feb. 11 tentatively agreed in principle to grant permission to build in Lions Park.
The county also will take ownership of the pavilion (but not the Puller, which will continue to belong to the heritage association).
The group needs permission from the Long Point Region Conservation Authority to build in the flood plain.
The association will pay if construction exceeds $87,000, president Heather Smith told county councillors.
Seine fishing is nearly extinct in Long Point Bay today but a century ago there were about 25 fishing grounds.
Seine net fishing originally involved placing a long net in the shallow water of the bay and hauling it by hand back to shore, where fish were removed.
The Becker Puller invented in the 1920s made work easier and permitted longer nets.
The Puller and stationary engine that will go on display came from Gravelly Bay. For a while, the machinery sat in a field at Port Dover, then moved to Port Rowan.
A group of welders and woodworkers will restore the Puller and its engine.
The pavilion will resemble a pavilion at the Port Dover Harbour Museum that houses a fishing tug engine.
The structure will consist of a concrete pad, post and wood beam building, metal roof, tempered glass panels and historical signage.
Volunteers from the heritage association will clean the glass.
Norfolk County will maintain and insure the pavilion.
“We think that this history is important because the shore-based seine net fishing industry is incredibly unique in Canada and because it is the story of working people and their families,” Ms. Smith said.
Originally printed in The Good News, March 2025.