A Small Fish in a Big Pond
For generations in Atlantic Canada, the fishery was a small, insular industry where fishermen harvested fish and sold it to a local merchant.
The fishing seasons changed, but the process remained pretty much unchanged for hundreds of years. However, as technology changed and advanced at a near incomprehensible pace in the last few decades, fishermen in this region are waking up to find themselves involved in the huge juggernaut that is the international fishing industry.
It is ...
The Twine Loft – March 2019
Passed On: William Parsons – Salmon Cove, N.L. labour
leader
Parsons passed away on January 26 at the Carbonear General Hospital following a brief bout with pancreatic cancer. He left his home in Flatrock at the age of 16 to teach, but soon realized that the classroom was not for him, so he moved on to the iron ore mine in what is now Labrador City. Having not yet reached the mandatory age to work in the mine, he worked in the kitchen until his 18th birthday. He signed his first union ...
On the Waterfront – March 2019
Cooke Acquires Seajoy Seafood
Cooke Inc. recently announced the completion of its
acquisition of the Seajoy Seafood Corporation group, one of the largest
vertically integrated, premium shrimp farms in Latin America.
“The acquisition of Seajoy is an important element in our focus on product diversification to meet our customers’ needs,” said Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke Inc. “Seajoy is a world-leading shrimp producer utilizing the highest quality and food safety standards and newest ...
A Tribute to Donald V. Graham
I always said the
measure of a person is the number of people at their funeral service.
Donald’s service was in Ferryland on Tuesday, January 15.
The day was really bad, gale-force, Northeast winds, drifting snow that turned
to freezing rain, then rain. Not fit to put your dog outdoors.
Despite the terrible weather, the church was filled, not
even standing room, as the old fishermen would say, stogged to the gills.
My reason for my being at the funeral was simple, paying
tri...
Seals Continue to Destroy Our Fisheries
I would like to add my
voice to those that disclaim the recent information provided by DFO’s
(Department of Fisheries and Oceans) Dr. G. Stenson (In The cull question:
Part I, published in the Jan. 16 edition of The Central Voice).
Seals have destroyed our fisheries in Atlantic Canada and
particularly that in Newfoundland and Labrador. The poor condition of harp
seals in terms of age, previously measured body mass and survivability of pups,
is a direct result of the seal population ...
2018 was Positive on Trade, Negative on Investment Confidence
It seems not so long ago that Canadian exporters were
considering how the business landscape would change without the North America
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Fortunately, that scenario hasn’t played out and a new trade
agreement, the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) was reached. For
export sensitive sectors, this was especially welcome news, but CUSMA, and other
trade agreements like it, are not an end-point, more accurately, it’s a
foundation for Canadian exporters to ...
Looking Beneath the Surface
In the fishery, we are always concerned about what is going
on underneath the surface of the ocean.
Looking at the surface can provide helpful information but
what is below the surface is what really matters.
Beneath that surface is the part of the ocean ecosystem the
fishery depends on. The different fish resources we harvest, the food for those
fish and predators who compete with us to catch them are all down there
somewhere. So is the fishing gear we use to catch them and even the ...
‘High probability’ Atlantic Cod Could be Extinct in Southern Gulf by Mid-Century
It appears the days for the Atlantic cod stock in the
southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (SGSL) could be numbered, with the species being
eaten into extinction by grey seals.
“Based on current grey seal abundance and Atlantic cod
productivity, our projections indicate that there is a high probability that
Atlantic cod will be locally extinct in the SGSL by mid-century, even in the
absence of fishing,” concludes the study, Continued decline of a collapsed
population of Atlantic cod due to ...
More Bad News for Northern Cod Recovery Prospects
Those anticipating a return of a viable commercial Northern
cod fishery in the waters off eastern Newfoundland may to have to wait a few
more years yet.
At a recent technical briefing, the Department of Fisheries
and Oceans (DFO) reported that the 2J3KL cod stock, also known as Northern cod,
has continued to decline from 2017 to 2018 and remains in the critical zone.
The spawning stock biomass (SSB) has declined from 441,000 tonnes in 2017 to
315,000 tonnes in 2018. The low spawning stock ...
FISH-NL Prepares for Second Membership Drive
Last fall, the Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of
Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) stated it was not going away anytime soon
and it appears to be sticking to those words.
The fledgling labour organization made the declaration
following the Oct. 1 decision by the NL Labour Relations Board decision to
finally dismiss FISH-NL’s certification application.
At the time, FISH-NL President Ryan Cleary told the CBC
that the dismissal was not a blow but “an opportunity.” He added ...
