Celebrity fisherman says he’s prepared to die on hunger strike against Ottawa
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Richard Gillett is a bull of a man, with hands that make the bottle of water he’s holding look small. He’s thick-necked, stands almost six feet tall and weighed 250 pounds before he stopped eating almost a week ago.
On Wednesday, this tough-guy Newfoundland fisherman, known for his three seasons on the reality show “Cold Water Cowboys,” fought back tears outside the federal fisheries headquarters in St. John’s.
“I’m prepared to go as far as I’ve got to,” he said.
He started a hunger strike last Thursday, and has slept in a tent here in freezing temperatures and biting winds every night since. He holds up a slushy bottle of urine, the only toilet he needs on a water-only diet.