Tag Archives: former Fisheries Minister John Crosbie
Will Reviving the Cod Industry Doom It Yet Again?
It’s been thirty-two years since the federal government first closed the northern cod fishery. It was historically the colony’s main trade for centuries, but that changed, nearly overnight, in 1992, after a press conference at the downtown Radisson Hotel in St. John’s, when then federal fisheries and oceans minister John Crosbie announced a complete halt. Fishery workers would be compensated for ten weeks, at the rate of $225 a week, and then go on employment insurance. The meagre amounts were seen as an insult to the workers whose labour was responsible for a $700 million per year industry (almost $1.35 billion in 2024 terms)—and who recognized, in the mass layoff, the spectre of their culture on the brink of extinction. Of course, fishery workers weren’t the only people who would suffer from the shuttering. With fishing boats now idle, fuel sales dropped. Schools amalgamated across communities as young families moved elsewhere and school districts struggled to fill classrooms. Those of us who lived through it will remember how local businesses offering small luxuries—restaurants and cafeterias, hair salons, cinemas—all felt the sting of a laid-off workforce. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:48
End of cod moratorium touted after 32 years as Ottawa approves small increase in commercial catch
Thirty-two years after the federal government announced a moratorium that shut down Newfoundland and Labrador’s cod industry, Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier said Wednesday that it is reopening. But what the federal government described in a statement as the “historic return of the commercial northern cod fishery” will amount to just a small increase in fishing activity that had been allowed during the recent years of the moratorium. “Ending the northern cod moratorium is a historic milestone for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians,” Lebouthillier said in a statement. “We will cautiously but optimistically build back this fishery with the prime beneficiaries being coastal and Indigenous communities throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.” The Fisheries and Oceans announcement comes with political overtones. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:40
30 years after N.L. cod moratorium – the wins are few and losses are many
John Williams wishes he could say the cod moratorium of 1992 feels like it was yesterday. But after losing his livelihood and reinventing himself a few times over, he’s felt every one of the past 30 years. Williams was one of about 30,000 people put out of work when the federal government brought an end to the northern cod fishery on July 2, 1992. It’s a date that still stirs up feelings from a solemn and desperate chapter in Newfoundland and Labrador’s history. “It was a pretty sad time to know that you weren’t going to go fishing anymore,” Williams said. “At the time I had three kids, and they had to be fed, go to school, and be clothed. It was tough.” It doesn’t help Williams that he’s constantly reminded of his small role in history — being the person who prompted former Fisheries Minister John Crosbie to utter some of his most famous words. Video, photos, >click to read< 08:38
Today Marks 30th Anniversary of Cod Moratorium – Gus Etchegary spent his working life in the fishery and has been an outspoken advocate for the industry. He believes a big contributing factor keeping stocks low is seal predation, which wasn’t a problem when stocks were healthy. He says when the resource was huge there was little impact because replacement levels overcame any pressure put on the stocks by seal predation. >click to read< 09:40
