Changing Supply
Last month in this column, I talked about changing markets and provided some examples of how the U.S. market for fish products had changed over a 20-year period.
This month, I will focus on how the supply of fish has changed in recent decades.
Markets have two sides — demand and supply. Markets are primarily about the demand side — purchasing and consumption — because that is the reason there is a supply. Without buyers, there would be no suppliers. As I have said before in this ...
Cod, Shrimp and Pangasius See Gains in U.S. Consumption
Cod is the big winner in the per capita U.S. consumption numbers, as it has taken an increased share of the whitefish market over the past five years.
The per capita consumption numbers released by the National Fisheries Institute recently showed a drop in overall U.S. seafood consumption from 15.5 to 14.9 pounds. Almost all of the drop was attributable to salmon, where consumption fell .7 pounds per person.
The NMFS model, on which NFI bases its numbers, is a disappearance model and is ...
What is the Outcome for N.L. Dropping Minimum Processing Requirements?
What did Newfoundland and Labrador get for giving up minimum processing requirements (MPR) under CETA?
CETA is the trade deal Canada just signed with the European Union and the signature for Canada was Justin Trudeau.
MPRs reflect an established right of a province to impose minimum processing requirements for fish landed at our ports. In the past, exemptions have been approved for the export of unprocessed fish when the market required it and/or when processing was not viable. No other ...
Summer Commercial Cod Fishery Should be Eliminated
Once again, Bob Verge has produced a very thought provocative article with his column Quantity Versus Value, Navigator Vol. 20. No. 10, October 2017.
When the time comes and it will, when Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are allowed to kill a cod for gain and sell it commercially, we have to do it like the Scandinavians. Maximizing value is the way to proceed.
I tell people it really does not matter how we catch cod in the summer months. This is only “hobby fishing.”
However, when ...
Apply the Precautionary Principle Before it is Too Late
In letters to the editor (Navigator, Vol 20, No. 10, October 2017), John Risley raises several examples of what we don’t know about our fishery.
We have no real idea of what our fishing industry resources are going to look like in 10 years’ time, including changes in location and abundance. He points out we are enjoying record catches for Atlantic Canada’s most valuable species, lobster; but we have no idea whether we can count on these catches to remain stable or improve or go into ...
On the Waterfront – December 2017
Canada’s Largest Commercial Marine Event a Near Sell-Out
With exhibit booth space nearly sold out, excitement is mounting for the next edition of Fish Canada Workboat Canada, returning to the Moncton Coliseum Complex on January 26-27, 2018.
This biennial event is Canada’s largest commercial marine trade show. It welcomes those who make their living on, in, and around the water, along with those who provide the related products and services to keep Atlantic Canada’s marine-based ...
The Twine Loft – December 2017
Passed On: John MacKinnon – Lismore, N.S. Fisherman
MacKinnon, 72, of Lismore, passed away on October 13 at St. Martha’s Regional Hospital, Antigonish. Born in Antigonish, he was a son of the late Ivan Joseph and Mary (MacDonald) MacKinnon. He was an electrician in his earlier years, a lobster fisherman for the last 30 years and a loyal Montreal Canadiens fan.
Passed On: Sheldon Rudolph – Lismore, N.S. Fisherman
Rudolph, 75, passed away on October 5 at St. Mary’s Hospital, ...
Is the Whole Greater Than the Sum of its Parts?
“There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.”
U.S. human rights activist Malcolm X was surely not referring to the fishery when he said these famous words, but they certainly could apply to the peaks and valleys of this turbulent industry.
Of all the adjectives used to describe the fishing industry over the last 50 years or so, turbulence might be one of the best. ...
Working Together
Using Indigenous and Local Knowledge and Science to Better Manage Capelin
By Chelsea Boaler, Ph.D. Student
Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland
Centre for Fisheries Ecosystem Research
Capelin (Mallotus villosus) is a prominent pelagic forage fish species for piscivorous predators in North Atlantic and Arctic waters.
It is not only a central food source in marine ecosystems, but also holds important subsistence and commercial value for people. Despite the ecological ...
