Tag Archives: George Rose
The cod delusion – A moratorium on cod fishing that was supposed to last two years has now lasted 30.
Three decades on, the latest DFO science still puts Atlantic cod in the critical zone. “I hope politicians and bureaucrats in Ottawa have learned something, because I’ve learned something: the moratorium was the biggest catastrophe ever heaped on the people in this province, ever. Nothing has been as bad as this,” says Captain Saunders, an 80-year-old Inuk. Seated in the wheelhouse of his longliner, docked in Pinsent’s Arm in late September 2021, Saunders speaks with the authority of someone with six decades of fishing experience, backed by centuries of hindsight. “Newfoundland and Labrador people fished for 500 years and didn’t damage the stocks. What Canada done was an atrocity in my opinion. It ruined a way of life. It ruined culture. All the stages, stage heads, they’re all falling apart, they’re all deteriorated — that’s the government did that.” >click to read< 17:40
Scientist says DFO may be overestimating Newfoundland cod stocks by 35 per cent
A British Columbia fishery scientist says he’s worried federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans managers aren’t getting an accurate picture of the state of the northern cod stock. In fact, George Rose’s research suggests DFO science may be overestimating the biomass of the stock by 35 per cent.,,, The president of the FISH-NL union says DFO should take the criticism seriously. Cleary is calling for the cancellation of all fishing for northern cod outside the stewardship fishery, including the recreational food fishery, which is not something the union takes lightly, he said. >click to read< 19:10
How Newfoundland is grappling with the return of cod fishing
Tony Cobb is seated at his usual table at the Chester Fried Superstop, a roadside gas station and convenience store that serves some of the best fish and chips on Fogo Island.,, His ritual is interrupted every few bites by the coverall-clad fishermen who approach the table after paying for their gas. In baymen’s accents and with hands held chest high, they tell Mr. Cobb, whose new fish business offers the best price for top-quality northern cod in Newfoundland, about the huge, gleaming fish they’ve been catching. The late fall yields the best cod of the year, from “foxy” reddish ones to black-backed hulks. These are not fish tales, and Mr. Cobb is happy to banter. But when the fishermen turn away, his eyes darken: His mind has wandered out of the diner and into the bleak murk of fishery politics. click here to read the story 14:06
The cod are coming back to Newfoundland — and they’re eating the shrimp that had taken over
Theodore Genge has a big beautiful new dragger that’ll be ready to head for “the Labrador” as soon as the sea ice loosens its grip on Anchor Point. When the 63-year-old Newfoundland fisherman began building the $2.2 million trawler two years ago he had 750,000 pounds worth of shrimp quota to catch. But plummeting shrimp numbers in the cold water off Labrador have led Fisheries and Oceans Canada to drastically carve into quotas for that coast. Genge expects that by April he’ll be left with a total of 300,000 lbs of quotas — 220,000 lbs in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where there is still plenty of shrimp, and 80,000 lbs on the Labrador coast. “Right now, yes, it’s pretty stressful – I don’t know whether there’s any hope or no,” said Genge. (Big read!) continue reading the article here 16:25
Cod comeback
“Last year was a pretty good sign of fish around, and this year was even better — more places, and a really good sign, places like Renews Rock. They hadn’t been there in 15 years, and the fish are back there now,” he said. “Ferryland right on down to Calvert, Bay Bulls, all those places are seeing a lot of fish.” George Rose, director of the Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research, said the scientific surveys it has done of cod populations bear out what fishermen are saying: the cod are back. Read the rest here 11:30
Future uncertain for fisheries research centre, five years after inception
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – The future of the largest seagoing fisheries research program of its kind in Canada is unclear as cash-strapped Newfoundland and Labrador reviews spending. “We want to continue with this project,” Premier Paul Davis said Tuesday aboard the RV Celtic Explorer docked in St. John’s harbour. But the centre is in the last of a five-year mandate and there’s no guarantee it will continue. The oil-dependent province has been walloped by lower prices and is reviewing all spending as it projects deficits through 2018. Read the rest here 20:48
Cod stocks off Newfoundland improving but recovery still years away: researchers
Scientists tracking northern cod stocks off Newfoundland say there are hopeful signs of recovery but that any lifting of an almost 23-year-old commercial fishing moratorium is likely a decade away. “In the past half a dozen years or so, we’ve seen a remarkable change,” said George Rose, director of the Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research at Memorial University’s Marine Institute in St. John’s. There are more fish, they’re larger and older, he said. Read the rest here 15:39
New England cod decline similar to N.L. cod crash: scientist
Rose noted that while some people are jumping on fisheries management as being inept, it is . “The same people often don’t mention that the haddock stock there has been booming, with basically the same fisheries management,” he said. “So, the real culprit here is climate change and our use of fossil fuels — and the still-apparent lack of recognition of the impacts this is having. Read the rest here 11:28
Northern cod reclaiming its territory
After being beaten down by overfishing to a fraction of the mighty force it once was, northern cod are starting to rebuild and re-populate its traditional areas off the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador. That’s good news for a species that has shown few positive signs of recovery during the 22 years since being placed under a moratorium. Read more here 09:04
Provincial research vessel finds evidence of growing cod stocks – Watch video here
Cod not in danger, researcher George Rose says
George Rose, a former federal fisheries scientist who has studied cod for decades, said while stocks are not as plentiful as they once were, they are not nearing extinction. “I don’t really believe that there is any danger for any of these species — cod, redfish or plaice — going biologically extinct,” Rose told CBC News in a telephone interview. more@cbcnews 13:26
