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...
A Call for Patience and Empathy in a Fishery Dealing with COVID-19
This letter is in response to Gabe Gregory’s May 4 letter, Fish union’s delay tactics appalling.
Contrary to Gregory’s assertions, fish-processing companies are not operating during the COVID-19 crisis under some noble sense of duty to the province or nation and they are certainly not sacrificing for the greater good.
Fish processing companies are doing what they’ve always done — trying to maximize profit and impose greater control over the inshore fishery in this province.
...
World Fisheries Day: Highlighting the Challenges for a Sustainable Future
November 21 was World Fisheries Day.
It is a day to recognize what the fishery means to our communities, our province, our country and the world.
The fishery is what brought many settlers to Newfoundland and Labrador and over 500 years later it remains the industry that sustains much of our rural and coastal communities. Tens of thousands of people are directly and indirectly employed by the fishing industry in our province.
In rural Newfoundland and Labrador, the crew member, the ...
FFAW Wants Things its Way on Pricing, Not Transparency
The FFAW has recently been on the bandwagon of transparency in fish price negotiations.
“Fairness and transparency,” it says. If only it were so simple.
The FFAW already has access to production reports from the province, proxies for yield from calculating landed volumes versus production, market reports provided by consultants and international trade media, and export prices from international trade databases.
And it wins most of the price negotiations by a price panel appointed ...
Labour Board Dismisses FISH-NL Certification Application
Labour Group Pledges to Fight On
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) has stated it is not going away anytime soon.
The fledgling labour organization announced this declaration despite the Oct. 1 decision by the NL Labour Relations Board decision to finally dismiss FISH-NL’s certification application.
FISH-NL President Ryan Cleary told the CBC that the dismissal is not a blow but “an opportunity.”
“The opportunity is to do ...
Future of FISH-NL Now in Question
After a wait of nearly 16 months, the Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Relations Board finally released a much-anticipated report into the quest of The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) to trigger a certification vote with the aim of representing inshore fish harvesters.
However, the report’s findings might not have been the result FISH-NL was hoping for.
Submitted to the Labour Relations Board on Dec. 30, 2016, FISH-NL’s application for ...
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...
On the Waterfront – October 2017
Marine Institute Receives Funding for Eelgrass Restoration
Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard recently announced that the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador will receive $4.7 million over five years for a project to help restore eelgrass ecosystems in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland.
The Marine Institute is the first group in Newfoundland and Labrador to receive project funding through the fund.
The ...
FFAW Calls for Ice Compensation and Extended Employment Insurance
FFAW-Unifor President Keith Sullivan is calling on the federal government to pay extended Employment Insurance (E.I.) benefits, or the equivalent, to fish harvesters in the province who are kept ashore by heavy ice conditions.
“The persistent ice in some areas of the province will cause hardship for many families, and the government must step-up to assist this people as conditions are expected to persist for the next several weeks,” says Sullivan.
For many, E.I. benefits run out next ...
FISH-NL Signs Up 2,372 Fishermen
Above photo: From left; Peter Leonard, Ryan Cleary and Jason Sullivan
FFAW States Number Far Below Total Needed to Trigger a Certification Vote
The future of the inshore fish harvesting labour movement in Newfoundland and Labrador is now in the hands of that province’s Labour Relations Board.
Since its inception in September of last year, the up-start Federation of Independent Seafood Harvesters or FISH-NL has been leading a boisterous campaign to break away from the established ...
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...