YARMOUTH, N.S. — A search is underway for a fisherman from a Mi'kmaq First Nation who is reported to have gone overboard from a fishing vessel off the coast of southern Nova Scotia.

The Halifax rescue co-ordination centre says on social media it was notified at about 4 a.m. local time of the man going missing at a location about 27 kilometres south of Yarmouth.

Lt.-Cmdr. Brian Owens, a spokesman for the rescue co-ordination centre, says there were initially four people on board the vessel, and three of them went to sleep, leaving the captain in the wheelhouse.

He says when one of the crew woke up at about 3:30 a.m., the captain was no longer in the wheelhouse, and when they searched the boat he wasn't on board.

A spokeswoman from Sipekne'katik First Nation said in an interview the person is from the community located about 65 kilometres north of Halifax, but she had no other details.

The crew immediately made a distress call, but coast guard vessels, a Cormorant helicopter and several aircraft have been unable to locate the man.

Owens says the weather was fairly calm at the time of the incident, and the crew hadn't indicated any mechanical difficulties.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2021.

The Canadian Press