Cape Breton lobster fisherman who died Monday lost his own father to the sea

The Cape Breton lobster fishermen who died Monday in a fishing accident off the coast of southwestern Nova Scotia was the son of a fisherman who was also killed at sea, according to his great-uncle.

Keith Stubbert, 53, was setting lobster traps on the Cockawit Lady when he fell overboard on the first day of the area's lucrative lobster season.

Stubbert was from a family of fishermen, his great-uncle, Emerson Stubbert, told CBC News on Tuesday. His father, Edward Stubbert, also died while lobster fishing.

"That's very peculiar to see the father go in a fishing accident and see the son go the same way," he said. "Makes you stop and think."

Emerson Stubbert said he doesn't know anything about the circumstances surrounding his great-nephew's death on Monday.

But he said Edward Stubbert was also killed while working on the water, in this case on the final day of a lobster season.

After the death, Edward Stubbert's widow moved the family to the Shelburne area, but some of the family, including Keith Stubbert, returned to Cape Breton later in life.

'There will always be love in my heart for him'

Keith Stubbert was an easy going man who would give you the shirt of his back, said his wife, Sara Stubbert. The two married in 2003, but separated two years later.

"I can't really say one bad thing about him. There will always be love in my heart for him," she told CBC News on Tuesday.

She says Stubbert was also a sword fisherman, which he did during the summer. An avid outdoorsman, he enjoyed hunting for deer, rabbit and duck, as well as ice fishing.

"In his spare time, he eat and breathed the outdoors. He loved his four wheeler. He loved to be out on the water, whether it was a canoe or a row boat," said Sara Stubbert.

Keith Stubbert also loved playing darts and would compete in tournaments in Nova Scotia at places like the legion.

Survived by family

Keith Stubbert is survived by his mother, stepfather, three sisters, two brothers, a half-brother, a daughter from a previous relationship and two grandchildren, according to Sara Stubbert.

Stubbert was one of three fishermen that went overboard Monday during 'Dumping Day," where hundreds of fishermen race out to set their traps.

RCMP say Keith Stubbert was pulled from the water by fellow crew members who called the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre.

Search and rescue technicians were sent by plane and jumped into the water to help. Stubbert was picked up by the Canadian Coast Guard ship Clark's Harbour and airlifted to hospital in Yarmouth, where he was pronounced dead.

In a separate incident on a different fishing vessel, two other men fell overboard Monday. They were rescued.