Tag Archives: Gus Etchegary
Gus Etchegary, one of N.L.’s fiercest fisheries advocates, dies at 98
Newfoundland and Labrador has lost one of its strongest voices on fisheries management and rural living. Gus Etchegary — fisheries advocate, corporate insider, author and athlete — died on Saturday, three weeks shy of his 99th birthday. He grew up by the ocean in St. Lawrence on the Burin Peninsula, in a time before Newfoundland and Labrador was a part of Canada. He’d grow to become president of Fisheries Products International, a powerful and sometimes polarizing figure in the province. Etchegary’s history with the sea was often rocky. He was five years old when his hometown was struck by an earthquake and tsunami. >click to read< 09:15
Speakers list released for today’s event to mark 30th anniversary of northern cod moratorium
The speakers list for the event scheduled for this afternoon to mark the 30th anniversary of the announced shutdown of Newfoundland and Labrador’s most iconic fishery has been finalized. Moratorium Story, 30 Years On will include speakers Ches Crosbie, Toni Kearney, Merv Wiseman, Kimberly Orren, Gus Etchegary, the Honourable Clyde Wells, Wilfred Bartlett, Amy House/Bernie Stapleton, and Mike Hearn. Biographies are included at the end of this release. Ryan Cleary will also speak and host the event, with music provided by Newfoundland folk singer Jim Payne. >click to read< 10:31
Northern cod 30 years after the moratorium: Confederation’s greatest shame
As the 30th anniversary of the northern cod moratorium looms, DFO cannot say with certainty whether the at-sea fall survey will be completed this year, the small-scale inshore fishery limps on with an average price of 64¢/lb, and the number of active enterprises has fallen to 1,259 — a shadow of the fishery’s glory days when the stock supported 30,000-40,000 workers. On the plus side, scientists with Fisheries and Oceans finally acknowledge that seals “undoubtedly” have an impact on cod — just not as huge as the lack of caplin (which seals also eat by the millions of pounds, but one DFO baby step at a time). >click to read< 08:02
In praise of a Newfoundland and Labrador fisheries advocate
I write regarding a letter from Gus Etchegary of the Fishery Community Alliance published in your paper on Feb. 22, 2021 (“A fish-damned tale”). I can only hope and pray that if I reach the age of Gus Etchegary I will have the same passion and drive that this man has always shown. I have known him for many years and have always admired his love for the province and the industry that he knows so much about. When we, as a people, chose to join Canada in 1949, I believe we made the right decision. However, I describe myself as a proud Canadian but always as a Newfoundlander and Labradorian first. By R. David Moores>click to read< 09:39
Fight for our fisheries. Provincial politicians need to pressure Ottawa to manage our fisheries
Gus Etchegary doesn’t mince words when it comes to the state of Newfoundland and Labrador’s fishery. The longtime fishery advocate laments that since the 1992 cod moratorium the federal government has “practically abandoned” the province’s fishery. The fishery is federally regulated, but he says doesn’t absolve the provincial government from its role “to be continuously pressuring Ottawa to take on the role that they were given in 1949, and that is to manage our fisheries in the same style as Iceland and Norway,” he said, pointing to two fishing powerhouses in the North Atlantic. >click to read< 12:15
Fisheries Advocate Calling for Independent Task Force to Help Rebuild Industry
Gus Etchegary’s involvement in the Newfoundland fishing industry predates Confederation, he’s now with the Fishery Community Alliance.,, Etchegary indicates more needs to be done nearly three decades since the commercial cod moratorium. Etchegary says an independent assessment of stocks needs to be carried out and consideration has to be given to seal predation, threats to the caplin stock and joint management. >click to read< 09:12
Our fishery is not only neglected, but for sale
Imagine our centuries-old fishery taken over by a foreign country. Imagine a minister of fisheries representing our province’s interest rubber-stamping this proposal. Imagine the recommendation coming from a five-member all-male board with little experience. The unimaginable above is truly our reality for our iconic industry. Denmark has recently bought interests in the Newfoundland fisheries, with the aim to now purchase additional fishing companies. Those Newfoundland and Labrador companies they have bought have been operating here for many years. By gaining access to processing plants, Denmark will also gain control over the fishing resource through fishermen who have been given quotas for various species. >click to read< by Gus Etchegary 08:20
Which Side Are You On? FISH-NL launches inaugural “netcast” leading up to Thursday’s Gander convention
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) has released its inaugural podcast episode, featuring an overview of the “cesspool of corruption” that is today’s fishery, and a local rewrite of the iconic labour song — Which Side Are You On? Which Side Are You On was written in 1931 by Florence Reece, the wife of a Kentucky miner, during a bitter strike. >click to read, listen to podcast<13:39
Fisheries management at ‘rock bottom’, N.L. group says
The Fishery Community Alliance is claiming fish that is landed and exported from a number of ports in Newfoundland and Labrador with cold storage facilities is not being properly traced by the province or Ottawa. In a news release Wednesday, March 7, the alliance called the lack of oversight further evidence of negligence in managing the resource on the part of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the provincial Department of Fisheries and Land Resources. The alliance says its members found out about the issue after they became aware of increasing shipments of unprocessed fish leaving the province for final processing. >click to read< 09:21
Letter: Stop digging a graveyard for our fisheries
Our fishing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador is in shambles, and yet politicians and decision-makers are blind to the fish bones pilling up in the graveyard, and with it, our prime industry, economy and our communities. Either that, or they simply do not care or have a handle on this industry they are responsible for managing and growing. Are they aware or concerned about the rapid expansion of the Canadian factory freezer trawler operations off our coasts while our groundfishery recovery is stalled and shrimp and crab fisheries in decline? >click here to read< 11:05
Letter: Follow the leaders in fisheries management – Gus Etchegary Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s
I have recently been in contact with former associates in Iceland, Norway and other advanced fishing nations on the status of their fishing industries, including fisheries management, processing technology, customer demands (for fresh, primary and secondary-processed fish products) and ongoing technical advances. I also questioned how these developments impact prices paid to fishermen and processing plant labour. As a result of impressive technical advances made in Iceland, Norway and Alaska in resource management and other key areas from processing higher quality fish and market development, their industries are now paying far higher prices to fishermen and higher wages to processors. Of even greater significance is the enormous contribution their fishing industry is making to their respective economies. Read the rest here 09:58
