The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre is suspending their search for five missing fishermen from the Chief William Saulis in the Bay of Fundy.
In a tweet, the JRCC said that based on over 36 hours of searching covering 260 square nautical miles and the environmental conditions, the matter will be turned over to the RCMP as a missing persons case.
The JRCC says the military and Coast Guard will stand down and return to base.
The RCMP has set up a command centre in Hillsburn as a base of operations. They are being supported by the Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office (EMO), Nova Scotia Public Safety and Field Communications, Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and Ground Search and Rescue teams.
The ground search zone now spans a 55-kilometre stretch of shoreline as searchers continue to look for items from the scallop dragger.
Media reports and Facebook posts have identified the men aboard the vessel as Leonard Gabriel, Dan Forbes, Michael Drake and Geno Francis, Aaron Cogswell, and captain Charles Roberts.
Several of the men are from the Yarmouth area or have ties to the community.
Ground search efforts are being focused during daylight hours due to the hazardous and dangerous conditions that occur at the shoreline in the overnight hours.
