Agatha Christie once said “Good advice is always certain to be ignored, but that’s no reason not to give it.”
Four decades ago, Newfoundland and Labrador inshore fishermen had lots of advice to give concerning what they were witnessing on the water. Harvester after harvester were reporting that not only was the overall size of cod getting smaller, but catches were only a fraction of what they were years before — certainly before the onslaught of foreign and domestic draggers.
Fishermen were not shy in expressing their opinions. Why would they since their livelihoods depended on what they were taking out of the water? Looking back now, it is obvious the alarm bells were being raised over and over again, but the silence from fisheries regulators of the day was deafening. And we all know the result.
On July 2, 1992, then federal Fisheries Minister John Crosbie announced the closure of the 500-year-old Northern cod fishery.
The funny thing about looking back into the past is that it has a way of clouding or hazing over the particulars of a certain event, allowing people to develop their own lasting conclusions. This is kind of how legends are formed. And Crosbie’s famous or infamous words and the subsequent reaction can certainly be classified as legendary in the annals of Newfoundland and Labrador’s fishing industry history.
While many of the stakeholders from that unprecedented event are no longer with us, to this day the finger-pointing and conspiracy theories still abound. But one fact remains concrete to this day — fishermen and their plethora of wise advice were simply ignored.
Jump ahead to present day and the question remains if the voices of fishermen are even being listened to today by Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) officials.
A few months ago, DFO released the conservation harvesting plan (CHP) for the 2023, 2J3KL cod stewardship fishery on the heels of announcing a rollover of last year’s 12,999-tonne maximum authorized cod harvest. No real surprises here. But yet again, stakeholders’ opinions on the topic seem to have been overlooked by regulators.
The Newfoundland and Labrador Groundfish Industry Development Council (NLGIDC), an advocacy group for both harvesters and some processors, expressed disappointment with the fact there would be no catch increases this season.
“During 2023, we witnessed a remarkably successful fishery up to this point. The initial pace of landings was somewhat slower compared to last year, as several processing plants abstained from cod purchases during the initial weeks due to their continued engagement processing other species. The overall performance of the fishery has been very good across the three NAFO Divisions: 2J, 3K and 3L as fish were caught with consistent high catch rates and displaying substantial size and good quality,” explained NLGIDC chair Jim Baird.
The organization said fisheries managers really missed an opportunity this year.
Advocates for the increase in the maximum allowable harvest for 2023 emphasized the high catch rates in the fishery in 2022. Of note, the 2023 fishery to date has been equally successful, if not more so than that of 2022.
“DFO received requests for a modest increase in the total allowable harvest for this stock, supported by the NL Groundfish Industry Development Council (NLGIDC), the Fish, Food and Allied Workers – UNIFOR (FFAW), the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP), the Newfoundland and Labrador provincial government and several Newfoundland and Labrador Members of Parliament.”
“Regrettably, the minister did not endorse this proposal, with the lack of research vessel surveys or a comprehensive science assessment over the past two years thought to be the primary rationale for the denial of the harvest increase for 2023. It is critically important that DFO completes a full scientific assessment of this iconic cod stock in time for the 2024 fishery,” the NLGIDC stated in a press release.
Fishermen are DFO’s best partner and they do not reject science. In fact, their livelihood depends on sound science along with their intimate understanding of the oceans. They live it, observe it and constantly innovate and adapt so that they and future generations can continue to make a living from the sea.
But they also understand that science is incomplete and the industry is continuously learning. While fisheries scientists have many of the answers, science itself is constantly evolving and sometimes what we thought was right turns out to be wrong. Fishermen should and need to question scientific truths, not because they don’t believe them, but because they are sometimes imperfect explanations that often do not match what they observe while working at sea.
Harvesters from this region also recognize that many Ottawa-based policymakers do not have intimate knowledge of life at sea. While some management decisions may be logical from the outside looking in, they are often not the best choice for the fishing community.
With many poor fisheries decisions to reflect on, fishermen have learned to trust their instincts — a necessity to remaining successful in an ever-changing ocean environment. Fishermen have learned not to blindly accept how outsiders interpret their world. They have a survival instinct to challenge, question and demand accountability so that regulators do not force changes that could erase their sustainable fisheries and negatively impact this centuries old way of life.
