Remembering My Friend Cabot Martin
On June 21, 2023, a service was held for Cabot Martin at the St. George’s Anglican church in Petty Harbour.
Cabot’s roots were in Port aux Basques, but he spent most of his life in St. John’s. However, he never forgot the rural parts of this province and spent a lot of his time and money working for our rural communities and for the ocean that was the life blood and our reason for being here.
One of his projects was cod farming, where fisher people would catch small cod and put them ...
The N.L. Fish Pricing System is Broken
Not only did the FFAW-Unifor come out on the losing end of the snow crab tie-up, the union has nothing to save face.
The local labour movement would be ashamed, if its back wasn’t already turned on the fishery.
Premier Andrew Furey shared a picture on his Twitter account on May 19th to mark the agreement to start the 2023 snow crab fishery at $2.20/pound — the same price set by the price-setting panel on April 6th — 43 days earlier.
I’m not sure which was more shocking: the ...
Letter to the Editor – Farewell to a Dear Friend
It’s a very sad day for me as I am writing this tribute to a very dear friend of mine and a friend and ambassador to all the fishing industry on the Northeast coast of Canada.
When I returned to the fishery in 1976, Gus Etchegary was a well-known name in the fishing industry because of his connection with the largest fish company, Fishery Products.
It was after the moratorium that I got to meet Gus when Cross Country Checkup did a live show in St. John’s, hosted by Rex Murphy. I had ...
From Fisheries Mismanagement to Oceans Management
Imagine if the future of the planet was being decided by a small group of bureaucrats and mining bosses in closed meetings in far-flung parts of the world.
Rather than looking at the overall impacts, these meetings only looked at things from one perspective — making sure that the mining companies could increase their takings — and ignoring other consequences, be they environmental, social or economic.
If that were the case, wouldn’t you think there would be an outcry, massive ...
Offshore Companies Get Leg-Up From DFO
In March, the news broke that DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) spent untold millions completing two weeks of science work for redfish on the Mersey Venture, a 200-foot factory freezer trawler owned by Mersey Seafoods and part of the offshore lobby group, the Atlantic Groundfish Council, headed by Bruce Chapman.
Go on, ‘by. Surely the Union’s not out complaining about the government doing more science work when that’s what they’re going on about half the time?
In an effort ...
Legislation Jeopardizing Future of Fishing Enterprises
Recently, I was out for a little beachside ride on my quad near the once busy fishing community of Black Duck Cove, on Twillingate Island, when I noticed a Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) sign washed ashore on the beach.
The sign read “structure in disrepair — keep off.”
As I picked it up, I thought, not only a literal statement of the decrepit wharf which it had obviously been attached to, but a sad metaphor for the future of so many of our fishing villages.
So, I ...
Price Negotiations Process is Skewed in Favour of Processing Companies
The provincial government recently released the review recommendations for our fishery’s price setting panel late last week.
The review was mainly done in response to the 2022 fishery — where processors refused to sit across the negotiations table from us, refused to pay the prices set by the panel and closed some fisheries down entirely.
2022 was by far the most difficult year of negotiations I can recall as someone who has been around the table now for over a decade. I’ve been ...
Monterey Bay Aquarium Spreading Misinformation About Sustainability of Maine Lobster Fishery
Given the recent recommendations released by Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program for American lobster, we write to share important facts about the Maine lobster industry’s long history of sustainability and commitment to protecting the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
We ask that you will respect the science and evidence outlined below as you consider purchasing American lobster.
In Maine, more than 4,500 lobstermen and women, all of whom are, by law, self-employed, ...
Seeking Information on P.E.I. Trawler Fishery
I am collecting historical information on the offshore trawler fishery in Prince Edward Island from 1950 until 1993.
The fishery operated out of Souris and Georgetown, P.E.I.
From 1969 to approximately 1984, H.B Nickerson/National Sea operated 10–11 steel, stern trawlers and a processing plant in Georgetown, all acquired from the P.E.I. Government in 1969.
I would like to communicate with anyone familiar with the vessels and/or the operation of that plant.
Also, from the mid-1980s ...
Wild-Caught Fish Has Low Carbon Footprint
Some weeks ago on The Broadcast, former Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne pointed out that wild-caught fish has one of the lowest carbon footprints of all human food sources.
That fact is extremely important for our fisheries as we face ever-deepening problems of climate change and global food supply.
Wild fish has an impressively low carbon footprint — estimated at around 3kg CO2 equivalents per kg of product. That is less than rice, olive oil, poultry or farmed ...
