In cod we trust: Newfoundland’s famous fish aims at a comeback, but not everyone’s happy
By 1992, the mighty cod had been fished to near oblivion, and the federal government declared a moratorium, indefinitely closing the industry in the hopes that the cod stock could rebuild itself over time. Some 30,000 Newfoundlanders lost their jobs and 10 per cent of the population headed west to Ontario, Alberta and beyond to find work in a mass outmigration the province has never fully recovered from. But if there is one truth in this life, it is that it is hard not to root for a good comeback story. Cod, in theory, was positioned to be such a comeback kid this summer when the federal government in June announced that the moratorium on the commercial cod fishery was being lifted after 32 years. Yet instead of parades, parties and fireworks, the announcement was met with discontent, particularly among small, inshore fish harvesters. That is, the skippers and salty olde sea dogs and their crews, wresting a living from the sea in small, 15-metre boats or less, who claim the end of the moratorium and return of the massive offshore “draggers” to the cod fishery is the beginning of the end for the North Atlantic cod 2.0. photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:10
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