The Challenges of Making Ends Meet
The late English comedian Les Dawson once said, “The way prices are rising, the good old days are last week.”
It appears Atlantic Canadians’ fixation of talking about weather fluctuations has been overshadowed of late by tales of price fluctuations — fluctuations unfortunately headed in the wrong direction.
The price of practically everything has gone up and the fishing industry is no exception. Just ask any lobster fishermen in the region.
During the summer of 2020, fishermen ...
Aquaculture on “The Leading Edge of Food Production”
Aquaculture can sometimes seem a bit complicated to people with all the science and technology that goes into it.
But the primary goal of the sector is very simple — it’s all about growing food to feed people.
St. John’s, N.L. is welcoming the best and brightest from the aquaculture world to the Aquaculture Canada and World Aquaculture Society (WAS) North America Conference and Trade Show (Aug. 15–18, 2022) and as part of that event, there is no doubt folks will collectively ...
The Fishery is Worth More Than Ever, So Why Isn’t N.L.’s Rural Population in Better Shape?
It is 2022.
It is hard to believe, for a number of reasons. Time is flying by and things inevitably change.
But for the cod fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador and in too many ways for the fishery generally, “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose,” or, the more things change, they more they stay the same.
We are 30 years out from the initial groundfish moratorium of July 1992. We’ve added another 10 years to the postponement of our hopes for a fully recovered cod fishery, ...
What Lessons Can Today’s Seafood Marketers Learn From the 2009 Recession?
The last time the seafood industry faced a genuine crisis was during the economic recession that started in 2008–09.
During that time, retailers prospered and foodservice contracted. However, retail prospered by giving customers the opportunity to trade down to less expensive products.
Looking at major seafood items, almost every single commodity lost substantial value between 2008 and 2010–2012, as U.S. consumers changed their buying habits.
This is the situation we are heading ...
30 Years Since the Cod Moratorium
Three decades have come and gone since the cod moratorium was announced on that fateful day in 1992.
I was just 12 years old growing up in Calvert at the time and the cod fishery was the heart and soul of the southern shore from Trepassey to Bay Bulls, just like the communities so many of you called home.
My family remained in the fishery after the moratorium, but many others did not. Over 30,000 people lost their livelihoods that day and the landscape of our province was forever change...
Is the Snow Crab Market a Bellwether or a Blip?
In the U.S., snow crab outperformed every other seafood product during the pandemic.
Yet today, the snow crab market is crashing at the fastest pace since the spring of 1995. That year, between May 1995 and May 1996, the price fell 46 per cent.
This year, Urner Barry quotations from last summer until this May are down 33 per cent and the bottom has not been set. This is already the largest percentage decline in price since 1995. Since February, the market has been going down around 50 ...
Herring Fishery in Risk Management Mode
The 2022 Atlantic Canada pelagics fishery is in a tailspin.
The March 30 announcement by Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Minister Joyce Murray that there will be no directed commercial or bait fishing for southern Gulf spring herring and a complete closure of the Atlantic mackerel commercial and bait fisheries in Atlantic Canada and Québec sent shockwaves through the fishing industry.
Now, the lucrative Bay of Fundy herring industry is doing its best to avoid further quota cut bombshells and ...
Asian Seafood Markets Impacted by Russia-Ukraine War
The war between Russia and Ukraine has exerted great influence on different sectors of the global market.
One victim has been seafood industries worldwide. Russia has spent great efforts in seafood promotion within recent years and it has been rising in prominence. Russian seafood exports have increased by 33.7 per cent to US$7 billion in 2021, according to the Russian Federal Agency for Fishery.
But now everything has been disrupted.
In the face of war sanctions, seafood trade between ...
The NLGIDC Wants to Know What Happened to the Lumpfish Resource?
What happened to Newfoundland and Labrador lumpfish?
“For years we had a viable fishery for lump roe in this province, then during the past 10 years we have been lucky to produce 500 barrels annually,” says Paul Grant, the executive vice-president of Beothic Fish Processors Ltd., based in Valleyfield, N.L.
For many years the fishery for lump roe provided an economic contribution to inshore harvesters and processors alike in Newfoundland and Labrador. The fishery began in the early ...
Are Whale Management Measures Levelling Off?
Have the federal government’s recent actions to help protect endangered North Atlantic right whales from fishing gear entanglements and collisions with vessels been working?
For now, they appear to be. The Departments of Fisheries, Oceans (DFO) and Transport announced in March that for two successive years, there have been no reported right whale deaths in Canadian waters.
This positive news was part of the federally mandated right whale fishery and vessel management measures for the ...
The Challenges of Making Ends Meet
The late English comedian Les Dawson once said, “The way prices are rising, the good old days are last week.” It appears Atlantic Canadians’ fixation of talking about weather fluctuations has been overshadowed of late by tales of price fluctuations — fluctuations unfortunately headed in the wrong direction. The price of practically everything has gone up and the fishing industry is no exception. Just ask any lobster fishermen in the region. During the summer of 2020, fishermen ...