Remembering Harold Small
I got to know Harold Small (Feb. 13, 1936 – May 17, 2021) when the Baie Verte Development Association and the Green Bay Economic Development Association got together to plan some sort of response to Greenpeace which was trying to destroy our seal industry.
With the help of Memorial University, we were able to get some assistance to help plan and organize what turned out to later be the Canadian Sealers Association.
After about a year that was put in place, I became first treasurer of ...
A Good Luck Story
On Tuesday, March 2, 2021, a mayday was sent out from the M.V. Atlantic Destiny, with a crew of 32 on board, that the vessel was on fire.
As any mariner knows, fire is the worst thing that can happen at sea. Sometimes it doesn’t give you time to get your life jackets or survival suits on, or get a lifeboat launched. Add eight-metre seas (24 feet) and 55 knot winds (100 km/h) and you are in the worst possible situation anyone on the water can imagine.
These past 12 months have seen a lot ...
When Will We Ever Learn?
In my lifetime, I have seen many ups and downs in this province of Newfoundland and Labrador that I love very dearly.
Although it’s a harsh and unforgiving land at times, I would not want to live anywhere else.
Most of our problems in this province have been made by our politicians.
Let’s go back to the time we entered Confederation with Canada. We are still not sure if it was by choice or as Donald Trump would say, it was rigged.
When we entered Confederation, we passed over to ...
The Fishery Was and Still is Our Reason for Being Here
I recently watched Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey on Issues and Answers, NTV, Oct. 25, where he mentioned the fishery and that was the reason for us being here.
I have mentioned that statement many times in my articles to the news media and open line shows over the last 40-plus years.
The last six years, under the leadership of Premier Dwight Ball, the word fishery was barely mentioned. He did say one day when a reporter questioned him about the fishery that he knew very ...
Repeating Myself 30 Years Later
Looking back, it’s ironic the two big stories in the news the week of January 10, 2020 were the death of the Hon. John Crosbie, who was Fisheries Minister at the time of the moratorium in 1992 and now 28 years later we are told the cod stocks in the Gulf are in danger of extinction.
What have we learned in 28 years?
I think we all know the answer to that one, but for some reason the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the managers of our oceans do not seem to get it.
In the late ...
The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same
In an April 2020 press release, Karen Dwyer, cod research Scientist, Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) stated that “survey indices suggest that recently observed stock growth (C2012-2016) may have stalled ecosystems conditions, indicating limited productivity and reduced food availability limiting the growth of cod.”
Dwyer said on CBC’s The Broadcast, that cod have turned to cannibalism (eating their own) because of a lack of food, mainly capelin. When asked by host Jane Adey ...
Should There be a Fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador This Year?
The fishery is part of the food chain, the very essence of life.
We have a lot of people in this world who are starving to death and any interruptions in the food chain will only make things worse. Food gets scarce, prices skyrocket and the poor people will be the ones to suffer.
There is a lot of fear in this province and you hear it every day on radio and TV, all in an effort to get people to stay home.
Approximately 90 per cent of food in Newfoundland and Labrador comes from outside ...
Inshore Fishing Industry Loses a Steadfast Advocate
Tom Best: December 31, 1945 – March 31, 2020
Tom Best was a tireless advocate for the inshore fishery, which was once the economy driving Newfoundland and Labrador, and one of the best-known inshore fishermen in this province.
Before I met Tom, I got to know him from open line radio shows and the Fisherman’s Broadcast.
In the 1980s, when the inshore fishery started to decline, Tom like many others, saw the warning signs and the potential demise of the industry that was so important ...
Wrong to Compare Aquaculture to Agriculture
This is in response to a letter to the editor by Mark Lane, executive director of the N.L. Aquaculture Industry Association, where he is supporting the fish farms in the ocean, regardless of the damage they cause and I can understand why, that’s what he is getting paid for.
I too am a proud citizen of this province and grew up harvesting the ocean and the land and the two are as different as chalk and cheese, especially what has happened this year on the South Coast.
When farmers lose ...
My Tribute to James Morgan
I first met Jim Morgan back in the late 70s when he was Fisheries Minister in the Peckford Government.
We were in the process of trying to get a marine service centre in the Green Bay South area, and after a long time we were successful.
We also had meetings with Jim after the anti-sealing group destroyed the market for seal products.
After Jim was finished with politics, he formed an organization called Rural Rights and Boat Owners Association because the federal government had ...
