PEIFor the first time, a woman has won the P.E.I. Shellfish Festival’s Tie One On mussel buoy and sock-tying competition. Emma Ellsworth, 20, has spent the past three summers harvesting mussels with her father.‘It was a pretty surreal feeling that I beat my dad’Thinh Nguyen · CBC News · Posted: Sep 28, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoEmma Ellsworth holds up her trophy after being announced the winner of the Tie One On competition at this year’s P.E.I. Shellfish Festival. (P.E.I. International Shellfish Festival)Ever since Emma Ellsworth was little, she watched and admired her father, Neil Ellsworth, compete — and win — time and time again at the Tie One On Mussel Competition.The mussel buoy and sock tie-off is part of the annual P.E.I. Shellfish Festival, which took place this year from Sept. 19 to 21.”I’ve always been super proud of him. I’ve always been a little girl screaming in the crowd for my dad,” the 20-year-old Summerside resident told CBC News.”And I’ve always thought, ‘You know what, I’d like to go on that one day… and I’m going to prove a point that women do belong in this industry and we’re meant to be here.'”Emma Ellsworth poses for a photo with her trophy alongside her father, Neil Ellsworth. (P.E.I. International Shellfish Festival)Ellsworth has harvested mussels with her father for the past three summers. This year, she took part in Tie One On for the first time.Little did she know she would win, making history as the first woman to take home the trophy at the contest.She bested all the men in the contest, including her father.”It was a pretty surreal feeling that I beat my dad — a champion of the Tie One On numerous times,” she said.”I felt a lot of pride in myself, but I know that he was definitely a lot more proud of me than I was myself. So it was definitely a win-win for the both of us.”‘Just the daughter of a champion’Ellsworth said she actually practiced for only 30 minutes before the competition.Despite working with her father, she didn’t consider it to be training because she didn’t handle the mussel socks much.Her secret to winning?”Just the daughter of a champion,” she said. “I’ve had somebody very, very good to look up to over the last few years.”Ellsworth says she only practiced for about 30 minutes before the Tie One On competition. (P.E.I. International Shellfish Festival)She recalled the moment after learning she had won: amid screams and flashing cameras, she ran into the crowd where her father stood with his fists in the air before giving her a big hug.”He just told me he was really proud of me, and it was definitely a beautiful moment between the two of us,” she said.Ellsworth said the trophy she held up in victory photos is actually the Tie One On competition’s second trophy. Her father, having won so many times, was allowed to keep the original trophy at home with his name on it.She said she plans to return next year to defend her title.Breaking barriersEllsworth sees her win as more than just a personal achievement.”I just beat 19 men that have been farming mussels for many years, and I’ve only been in it for three years. I’m only 20 years old and I beat them all, and it’s definitely a very exciting feeling,” she said.”I just hope that by me competing, more women will see that ‘hey, I can do it too.’ There is room for women in these industries.” The stigma around women working in these industries is what’s keeping more away from being in them.— Emma EllsworthShe added that women face challenges and misconceptions in physical, demanding and male-dominated industries like aquaculture.”Typically, you know, women are not meant to work in industries where the job is dirty and it’s very physical… that’s just not what society thinks that we’re meant to do,” Ellsworth said.”In today’s world, I find people just try to fit into the norm, and they don’t want to stand out, really. So I find that the stigma around women working in these industries is what’s keeping more away from being in them.”With files from Jackie Sharkey
P.E.I. woman makes history as 1st female winner at Tie One On mussel competition
