Productivity and Incomes
Atlantic Canada’s capture fishing industry has had a serious productivity problem for a long time.
I wrote a column about that fact a little over a year ago. This month, I will discuss the significance of the problem in determining incomes of people in the industry and the challenges it will present for the industry of the future.
First, I should remind readers that productivity is measured as a ratio:
It is a measure of how much of something we get out compared to what we put ...
Ministerial Problem?
P.E.I. Fishermen Want Their Own Provincial Department With Dedicated Minister
On Prince Edward Island there is a holy trinity of industries that feed almost all others.
The big three are fishing, farming and tourism.
Together these industries represent a huge portion of the province’s economy and support thousands of jobs and tens of thousands of people.
Which is why when there’s a shakeup in leadership in two out of the three industries, it’s a big concern to a lot of people. ...
Rebuilding Groundfish Stocks Must be Made a Priority
During recent months I have been in contact with friends and former associates in Iceland, Norway and other advanced fishing nations regarding the present state of their fishing industries.
In these discussions I have raised a number of matters including fisheries management, processing technology, customer demands for fresh, primary, and secondary processed fish products and ongoing technical advances in their respective fisheries sectors. I also raised the important issue of how these ...
Last of an Era
Above photo: A young Sam Gosse (right) hauling a cod trap before the cod moratorium off Torbay N.L.
Sam Gosse and his brother Tommy have built very successful careers, but they started from very humble beginnings.
Sam, 45, is just one year older than Tommy and the two have always been very close.
Sons of an inshore, small-boat fisherman in Torbay, Newfoundland, the brothers are the last of a Gosse family tradition dating back 150 years or more — they are the last of the Gosse ...
Sealers Upbeat About This Year’s Hunt
Crab Season, Ability to Attract Young People Kept Some Away
Those involved in the annual seal hunt off Newfoundland and Labrador this spring have been encouraged by the success of the season, even if it is still on a much smaller scale than it was a decade ago.
About 60,000 harp seals were taken in the commercial hunt, about 25,000 more than last year — but still a far cry from the total allowable catch (TAC) of 400,000 animals.
Ronald Tiller of Newtown, Bonavista Bay, said he and his ...
Little-Known Cusk Might Have Adverse Impact if Placed on Endangered List
The majority of local fish consumers have never seen cusk in the seafood section of local grocery stores.
But if the little-known fish is placed on an endangered species list and Ottawa approves the move, it could have far-reaching effects on the fisheries in the Gulf of Maine and Bay of Fundy, especially the lobster fishery.
A cusk sort of resembles a big eel and prefers deep water on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. It eats crustaceans and other soft-bodied invertebrates and molluscs. ...
Decision Will Result in Loss of $6.5 Million for 19 Cape Breton Communities
DFO has cut snow crab quotas by 54 per cent as the northeastern Nova Scotia snow crab season opens this year.
Ever since the fishery was restructured 11 years ago by the fisheries minister, the North-ENS (Eastern Nova Scotia) snow crab fishers have received smaller quotas than were committed in the recommendations of the Independent Panel on Access and Allocation.
The cut this season means that the 78 licensed snow crab boats will receive $2.5-million less for snow crab they land to the ...
How Fishermen’s Knowledge of Redfish Catches in the 1980s and 1990s Can Help DFO Now
The redfish stock of the Laurentian Channel area (NAFO zones 4RST, 3P — now called Unit 1+2) supported large fisheries in the 1960s and 1980s but since about 1995 catches have been quite small.
In fact, these stocks fell to such low levels that the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) recommended listing the two redfish species in this area as “endangered” and “threatened.” DFO has devoted a lot of time since 2011 to determining the size of this ...
Spring Lobster Season
Fishermen on Prince Edward Island and in areas of New Brunswick had an extra spring in their step on the morning of April 30. Hundreds of lobster boats took to the waters of lobster fishing areas (LFA) 20a, 22, 23, 24, 26a and 26b for the much anticipated spring fishery. Fishermen were reporting decent catches, but not at the levels of 2015. Early prices were in the $5.50-$6.60/pound range. The lobster fishery in LFA 25 does not open until August 9.
