Stop Putting the Cart Before the Horse
There is an old saying that describes the current push to revitalize the industry that this province was founded on.
The industry I am referring to is the inshore fishery and the old saying is “putting the cart before the horse.”
While I do have some respect for an initiative that is attempting to ease the pain caused by the declines in shellfish stocks, I am troubled by the complete lack of attention given to the reason we find ourselves in repetitive boom and bust cycles. It appears ...
Missing the Mark on N.L. South Coast Cod
Above photo: The Icewater Seafoods plant in Arnold's Cove, N.L. Photo courtesy of Icewater Seafoods
A new year provides an opportunity for all participants in the fishery to take stock of its successes and failures.
One area that needs reflection from industry as a whole is the cod resource off the South Coast of Newfoundland in 3Ps.
The state of this stock is no surprise to anyone. Science representatives from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans have repeatedly told participa...
Cod: Building the Fishery of the Future
It was my distinct pleasure to attend the two-day cod workshop in Gander on November 28 and 29, 2017.
We are indeed fortunate in this province to have a unique teaching/industry hub in the Marine Institute. The staff of this Institute and the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation had put together a very effective two-day forum of cod industry speakers.
The material presented on the United States cod market by the Icelandic and Norwegian speakers was revealing. There is just “no ...
Filling the Gaps
On November 28 and 29, 2017, the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation (CCFI) hosted a very successful conference on the theme Cod — Building the Fishery of the Future in Gander.
The presentations from that conference and the audio recordings of the different sessions are available on our website at http://www.ccfi.ca/codconference/presentations.asp.
In last month’s column, I talked about what we heard at the conference. As an overall conclusion, I suggested that the ...
With Pacific Cod Problems, Whitefish Buyers May See a Wild Ride in 2018
After a period of relative stability, the next seafood commodity that may be buffeted by price swings will be whitefish.
Cod, the premium product in the complex, is likely to see shortages and rising prices in some specialty markets. But for buyers, there is instability throughout the complex.
Haddock, cod, tilapia, pangasius and pollock prices are all out of their normal relationship to each other. Disruptions in the cod market, possible major disruptions in pangasius and the fact that ...
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 ...
NL-GIDC Outlines Priority Issues for Groundfish Industry Development
Above photo: NL-GIDC independent chair, Jim Baird
Since its inception in April 2016, the Newfoundland and Labrador Groundfish Industry Development Council (NL-GIDC) has quickly become a major player in formulating a strategy for re-establishing a commercial cod fishery in the province.
The organization, made up of processors, harvesters and government officials, recently unveiled its latest strategy at its annual general meeting in St. John’s.
“The way forward for our provinc...
Citizen Science Pilot Cod Project
Citizen scientists count.
The phrase citizen science may be new to you, but it is an old practice. Before the 20th century, science was done by “gentleman” scientists who worked independently such as Benjamin Franklin, Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin.
The phrase “Citizen Scientist” was only added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2014 and it’s defined as “scientific work undertaken by members of the general public, often in collaboration with or under the direction of ...
