By Canadian Press

Fisheries Department scrambled to claw back ‘ill-timed’ lobster tweet: documents

Feb 27, 2023 | 11:45 AM

OTTAWA — An “ill-timed” tweet warning it is illegal to take lobsters that have washed up on a beach was approved by no fewer than seven people even after one of them warned it might not be well received in the middle of a hurricane.

The tweet and a nearly identical Facebook post were issued on the morning of Sept. 24, five hours after the post-tropical cyclone Fiona slammed into Atlantic Canada.

Documents obtained by The Canadian Press through an access-to-information request show the tweet was reviewed and discussed over email by more than a dozen people over 24 hours as the storm drew nearer.

One of them chimed in that perhaps the tweet would be badly timed if the storm turned out to be as awful as predicted.

With only a minor adjustment in language, the tweet was issued.

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It was removed less than four hours later amid a public backlash on social media that lasted for several days.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2023.

The Canadian Press