By Anita Hamilton
Shayne Leo McQuaid, 63, who had recently retired from the Habitat Management Division of the Maritimes Region of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), passed away on Thursday, January 10, at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Shayne McQuaid
His many friends and family have had the privilege of knowing a man who truly gives meaning to the terms we all tend to use too loosely these days—terms like tenacious, determined and courageous.
Shayne’s wonderful zest for life began early as Holland College moulded a raw, exuberant cadet into a young, professional police officer—a job he truly loved and believed in. From the streets of Summerside, Prince Edward Island (PEI), the start of his long career of service to the public brought him to the western end of PEI as a newly- minted Fishery Officer.
Shayne didn’t just flourish, but went on to a stellar career with DFO, serving in many capacities. Shayne was a true believer in hard work being the only way to tackle any problem. His tireless efforts to improve the working conditions for the officers and biologists he supervised over the years were a lifelong passion. He was a dynamic personality, determined and focused, no-nonsense, and yet full of kindness and understanding. He mentored people with gusto. If you walked beside him you were sure to carry forward his determination and purpose. He was thrilled to see others succeed.
Shayne was an innovator. In the early 1970s, he assisted in the implementation of the National Training Program for Fishery Officers and set up a marine electronic surveillance program that was a first for Canada, for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and DFO. Later, he initiated the first DFO canine unit. The dogs were used to track and pursue poachers. They were faster than officers and poachers crossing the Bay of Fundy clam flats.
Thinking outside the box was a daily approach to work and life for Shayne. He pioneered the application of the relatively new science of DNA analysis into vastly improving the management of the North Atlantic Tuna fishery, and could just as easily catch a wayward seal from your back yard.
Shayne McQuaid at work
He brought that same mental acuity and tenacity to the habitat management side of the job. As a true believer in working in partnership with all parties including other governments, First Nations peoples, numerous organizations and just the ordinary folks in each community, his unyielding passion to make the world a better place really did shine. He was an enthusiastic participant in the GOMC-NOAA Habitat Restoration Partnership, paving the way for US-Canada collaboration in the restoration of freshwater and estuarine ecosystems.
Shayne was a problem solver—solutions to seemingly impossible problems just appeared. Given a challenge that others would consider an impenetrable wall, Shayne would figure out a way over, through or around. For example:
- Realising the need for labourers for restoration projects and for purposeful work, he collaborated with Corrections Canada to have inmates work on stream restoration projects.
- Shayne worked with educators to establish several school programs to teach students about ecology and the importance of fish habitat restoration.
- A Conservation Watch Program was set up to help groups protect their community watersheds.
- Shayne initiated and promoted a stream restoration program at the Department of National Defense (DND) Base Gagetown that, with DND funding, had three DFO staff attacking the environmental challenges of running an active training base in the wild lands of New Brunswick. He was given a Base Commander’s Award for this—one of only three ever given in Canada to a person outside of the military. To Shayne, this was partnering and the partnership lasted for many years.
Shayne was a true team leader and mentor. With the aid of many staff and community groups throughout the Maritimes, thousands of kilometres of stream habitat were restored. His influence is seen today in programs like the Adopt-a-Stream Program in Nova Scotia and organisations like the Community-Based Environmental Monitoring Network of Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.
He did all this as a family man. On our long drives to projects and especially on the way home, he reminded us of the importance of family. He knew his accomplishments were nothing without them. He was keen to share his love for his family as much as he shared his stories; funny, mostly and those that taught us lessons to make life better.
Shayne McQuaid was an ordinary, dedicated visionary who believed in hard work and that everyone has something to contribute regardless of their station in life. Shayne’s legacy is the momentum he created in community-based habitat restoration that continues today and will continue to grow.
Thanks, Shayne
Shayne is survived by his lifelong partner Myrna, son Michael, daughter Michelle, and grandchildren Brennan, Lauren, Jack and Liam.
(Bob Rutherford and Jim Jamieson contributed to this memorial.)
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