And like the sheen that once covered many of the pond's coves, talk of the spill has long since dissipated. Everybody is back to normal. Even Briggs's digging partner, who for months after the pond reopened to shellfishing, in April, worried that the clams tasted of oil, has fallen silent, says Briggs. It was a psychological thing with him. The spill's timing could not have been worse for the Briggs family.
Winter is a lean time for shellfishermen.
He recovered, but Gail had to quit her job as a Cumberland Farms clerk to care for him. We had no money. Desperate, the Briggses showed up at a Peace Dale food bank. And life returned to normal. Throughout the summer, Briggs says he would occasionally dig up small sheens of oil he attributed to the North Cape.