An approaching snowstorm has forced the Nova Scotia RCMP to suspend the shoreline search for five missing fishermen whose scallop dragger sank in the Bay of Fundy on Tuesday.

Snowfall warnings have been issued for much of the province, where the southern mainland can expect up to 25 centimetres of snow by late tonight, with higher amounts possible inland.

The RCMP assumed the lead role in the search on Wednesday at 5 p.m. when the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax decided there was no hope that the crews aboard military aircraft or coast guard vessels would find any survivors.

The 15-metre Chief William Saulis was plowing through three-metre waves near Delaps Cove, N.S., when it sank.

The company that owns and operates the boat, Yarmouth Sea Products, has said the crew did not issue a distress call and it appears the vessel capsized, with its automatic emergency locator beacon alerting authorities just before 6 a.m.

The boat has yet to be found, but the body of one fisherman was recovered from the bay's southern shoreline late Tuesday.

The industry group that represents Bay of Fundy scallop fishers has started raising money to help the men's families, and has so far received 60,000 dollars in donations.