The Game is Afoot
It has been a while since the old Navigator time machine has been fired up and taken for a spin.
Hopefully it should not take too much coaxing to turn over the engine as we take a quick hop back to the days following October 19, 2015. A four-year spin should hopefully not burn too much fuel, since we are not sure if time machines fall under the new carbon tax legislation or not.
Anyway, let’s take a short walk back to the days after the Liberal red tide washed over the shores of ...
The Twine Loft – October 2019
Passed On: Gregory Bernard – Paqtnkek Mi’kmaw Nation and Shubenacadie Mi’kmaw Nation, N.S. Fisherman
Bernard, 35, passed away on July 31. Born on July 2, 1984, in Antigonish, he was a son of Roger Sark and Nancy Ann Bernard. He was a fishing captain and fishing was his pride and joy and a big part of his life.
Passed On: Jim Morgan – St. John’s, N.L. Former N.L. Provincial Minister of Fisheries
Morgan, 79, passed away on August 4 at Pleasant View Towers in St. John’s. Born ...
My Tribute to James Morgan
I first met Jim Morgan back in the late 70s when he was Fisheries Minister in the Peckford Government.
We were in the process of trying to get a marine service centre in the Green Bay South area, and after a long time we were successful.
We also had meetings with Jim after the anti-sealing group destroyed the market for seal products.
After Jim was finished with politics, he formed an organization called Rural Rights and Boat Owners Association because the federal government had ...
Jim Morgan: A Rebel with a Cause
On August 4, one of the province’s best-known politicians passed away at Pleasant View Towers in St. John’s.
Jim Morgan’s long-standing image in the public eye, even after he officially ended his formal stint in politics/government in 1989, demonstrated the life of a consummate politician.
While I worked with him, I was both surprised and honoured to be called by his wife Denise to pay tribute. I will try to portray his contribution to the people of this Rock and Big Land, primarily ...
On the Waterfront – October 2019
Dorian Packed a Punch but No Major Damage Reported
Fish harvesters in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island were taking no chances and secured their gear and vessels prior to Hurricane Dorian’s arrival on Sept. 7.
And Dorian did not disappoint. Packing high waves, massive storm surges and winds in excess of 100km/h, the first major storm of the season really packed a punch. But the precautions taken by most fishermen appeared to pay off, as there were reports of only minor ...
Inshore Fish Harvesters are More Divided Than Ever
Lately there seems to be more news stories about problems in the fishery then there are rodents at the Robin Hood Bay landfill.
The province is blaming Canada, the provincial parties are blaming each other and the FFAW-Unifor is blaming everyone but themselves for the mismanagement of our fisheries.
The root cause of the problems with our inshore fishery today is it is micromanaged to a level that a fish harvester cannot go to the washroom without permission.
Whether it be for a new ...
A Single Union Cannot Represent All Sides of the Fishing Industry
Since FISH-NL began our second membership drive in mid-August, the FFAW-Unifor has sucker punched its processor buddies, staged a free-fish giveaway, fallen for outside buyers, launched a seal petition and declared war on the oil and gas industry that it usually never says a peep about.
The FFAW-Unifor has also gone after its oil industry regulator buddy, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (which has funded the FFAW), for permitting oil and gas exploration in prime ...
Green-Lighting Cod Jigs
A New Handline Fishing Enhancement
Since the Northern cod fishery moratorium in the early 1990s, fishing gears, methods (e.g. gillnet soak times) and gear alternatives (e.g. hook and line) have been explored for efficiency, practicality, profitability and ecological sustainability.
While gillnets are the most widely used gear in commercial fisheries, most fishers also jig cod. Some fishing programs or areas such as the Petty Harbour Protected Fishing Area only allow handline fishing methods ...
FCC Hosting “Delivering Seafood to the World” Conference in Ottawa
The Fisheries Council of Canada (FCC) is hosting its annual conference in Ottawa this October, with the theme of Delivering Seafood to the World.
The conference will be held October 2–3 at the Delta Hotel Ottawa City Centre.
The Government of Canada sees the agri-food sector as an economic engine. The fisheries sector, exporting to 139 countries, is a prime example of that engine — providing critical economic prosperity for communities along its coasts and around the large freshwater ...
Free Fish
In August, fish harvesters were giving away newly landed cod in downtown St. John’s.
They gave the fish away free to attract attention as a form of protest, because no fish plants were willing to buy their catches.
It wasn’t that the catches were huge. The plants were fully occupied in processing capelin and didn’t have capacity to process cod at the same time. The harvesters demanded that the provincial government allow buyers from outside the province to come in and buy their ...
