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Newfoundland
and Labrador
, : on the Environment Confederation PO Box 8700, Tel: (709)
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and the Economv
Building, Wes’t Block St; John’s, NF Al B 4J6,
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Round Table on the Environment
and the Economy .,
-,
eport of the Partnership on ustainable Coastal Communities Marine Ecosystems in ewfoundland and Labrador
October 1995
Preface
The collapse of the cod fishery off the coast of Newfoundland ment. The impacts and implications 1994, both the National Labrador
on an ecosystem,
Round Table on the Environment
Round Table on the Environment
look at the fish crisis from the perspective Newfoundland
and the Economy
and the Economy
of coastal communities
this to be a case study, from the viewpoint
moratorium
on northern
of planning
for sustainability
from the fishing industry avoid any suggestion
of promoting
at the community
and in
in the province.
Bernadette
to create a small task force, augmented
or another
government
Dwyer from the Fogo Island Fishers Co-operative,
The Report of the Partnership
on Sustainable Coastal Communities
and Marine Ecosystems in Newfoundland
and Labrador is
to the ongoing
Judith Rowe& Chair
M.D., Chair
National Round Table on the Environment
Newfoundland
and the Economy
Environment
and Labrador Round Table on the and the Economy
membership:
Wilfred Bartlett, fisher Tom Best, fisher Bernadette Dwyer, Fogo Island Fishers Co-operative,
(Chair)
Diane Griffin, former NRTEE Member and Executive Director of the P.E.I. Nature Trust Elizabeth May, NRTEE Member and Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada Mary O’Brien, NLRTEE Member andfish plant owner Martin von Mirbach, NLRTEE Member and Sustainable Development Centre for Forest and Environmental
Studies
Scientific Advisor: University of Newfoundland
Dr. Steve Thompson, former Senior Policy Advisor, NRTEE Secretariat Sean Kelly, former Policy Analyst, NLRTEE Secretariat
repre-
and both Round Tables believe it is important
these vital issues.
Professor Jon Lien, Memorial
nature and to
agreed to chair the partnership.
deliberations
Stuart L. Smith,
decision-making
One of the fishing industry
as possible, not only for what it says but as a contribution
surrounding
The
by three members
to reflect its collaborative
committee.
that this ‘voice’ gets as wide an audience and decisions
investigated.
the round table model for consensus
The effort was named a ‘partnership’
that this was a ‘commission’
in which the crisis created by
for future sustainability
level.
the most tangible result of this process. It is the ‘voice of the communities’
Partnership
develop-
on a project that would
and marine ecosystems
of the affected communities,
cod could be analyzed and the prospects
To this end, both Round Tables selected two of their members
sentatives,
(NRTEE) and the Newfoundland
(NLRTEE) decided to collaborate
of the sustainability
NLRTEE shared these goals and also saw the potential as a method
is a classic example of unsustainable
and on a way of life never seem to stop. In the fall of
and Labrador.
The NRTEE intended the current
and Labrador
on an economy
Chair,
debates,
Dedication
This report is dedicated to all those who so willingly attended our meetings and shared their thoughts with us.
““Thefishery was more than a job. It was our life.” lNTRODUCTlON
run for two to three hours, more often ran for four or more. In the evenings,
It is fair to say that this enterprise
was a bit of an experi-
ment for both round tables. The prospect
of entering
the
attracting
fishery debate was viewed by some as problematic. Neither munities
to explore public views on sustainability. conscious
We
conclusions
other members anything
participants
but in general
group. In the evening, we shared the
and tested for whether
of the need to bring some-
thing new to the discussion,
a different
preliminary
round table had ever before gone into small com-
were all extremely
we held public sessions often
engaging some afternoon
from the stakeholder these appeared
of the community.
sessions
accurate to the
As well, we probed
for
we had missed in the afternoon.
and not merely to repeat pre-
vious efforts. Despite any such initial concerns, emphatically
we have to report most
that our process was seen as unique and
valuable by people in the 13 communities enlisted the services of the Extension Development
Co-operative
we visited. We
Community
in St. John’s to do logistics
and advance work. Thanks to their efforts, we were able to identify and personally community meeting. interest
invite all key stakeholders
and indeed within a small radius of each The term stakeholders
includes
in the survival of the community.
extended
all with an Participation
well beyond the fishing industry,
fishery tended to dominate meeting,
in each
we would have everyone
cabinet member
although
the discussion.
from a local MHA or
to the RCMP, schoolteachers,
workers and fishers, women’s committee local TAGS (The Atlantic Groundtish
fish-plant
representatives,
council. We generally held meetings assembled
least a rectangle interaction.
around
Our meetings
Strategy) counsel-
lors, clergy, gas station owners and members the afternoon,
the
At a typical
of town
to speak through
go-arounds,
in
-
we were iced in in
engulfed
in blizzard
on the highways. We experienced
tality everywhere ence magnificent
warm hospi-
we went and wish to extend thanks to all
who did so much for us. We were privileged
as well as engaging in a live-
discussion
in the appendix).
we explored
around
Through
These sessions,
Coastal
a series and
again in the future. These
were followed by discussion
fears and concerns.
the
what had made the community
in the past, what made it unsustainable
what could make it sustainable
Sustainable
whiteouts
had several opportunities
we organized
same agenda (included
questions
up in early
scenery, towering
to experi-
icebergs and inquisi-
tive caribou and moose. We started our February
In each community, of questions,
Fogo, fogged in at St. Anthony,
a “round table,” or at
ly discussion.
sustainable
and wrapped
imagine in coastal Newfoundland
with stakeholders
of square tables, to allow more direct
Every stakeholder
began in February
June. We faced just about all the travel obstacles one can
Communities
of peoples’ hopes,
although
planned
and
Marine
to
with a cluster of meetings province,
the island of Ramea, St. George’s, Burnt Islands
and La Scie on the Baie Verte Peninsula. continued
session
along the south coast of the
with meetings
In March, we
on Fogo Island, in St. John’s and
in Renews and a meeting with the young people of Petty Harbour.
In early May, we visited Cook’s Harbour
the Northern
Ecosystems
in
Peninsula,
Newfoundland
up at
and then flew to coastal Labrador
and
Labrador
with meetings
in Forteau and Makkovik.
held meetings
in Marystown
communities
were selected to represent
regions of the province,
and different
ing industry
as well as communities
government
consultations,
which were dependent Following
of the most frequently
how powerful
sectors of the fishnot frequented
together
and, of course, communities
it would be for people facing the same crisis
to explore their options
we held
session in St. John’s on Oceans Day, June representatives
for the future. But, in
our view, this became one of the most gratifying the experience.
meetings,
heard recommenda-
We had not originally realized
but relatively isolated from each other to be brought
by
on the fishery.
8. We invited community
distillation
tions from communities.
geographic
the full series of community
a large wrap-up
In late May, we
and Bay de Verde. These
democracy
and sustainability
planning,
process started in each community will continue
parts of
From the point of view of grass-roots we hope that the
through
our meetings
and flourish.
from each of the
places in which we had held sessions. At this session we tested some of our preliminary
conclusions,
attempting
a
I-IAT SUSTAINABLE In this Partnership,
I
established
to examine the sustain-
ability of coastal communities throughout
Newfoundland
conversation
and marine ecosystems and Labrador,
in each community
“What made your community That question Without
by asking the question, sustainable
in the past?”
is totally caught up in the life of the ocean.
exception,
Partnership,
we started the
in every community
visited by the
the first answer was “Fish!” Over and over,
we were told, “The fishery was more than a job. It was our
2
life.” In that statement defining
was the essence of the fishery as the
force for generations
of Newfoundlanders.
It
defined what they did for a living but, arguably more important,
it defined their sense of identity,
their pride in themselves
their culture,
as a distinct and hardworking
people. It was the fishery that led their ancestors, hundreds
some
of years before, to cling to life on the rocky and
inhospitable
coast.
Many outside Newfoundland, communities
and some people in the
we visited, challenge the implicit assump-
tion in the question
“What made your community
sus-
tainable?” Many would assert that these communities were never sustainable.
But when posing a question
the past we found that the discussion
moved back in time, before Confederation, predominance dependency. residents
of social programs,
about
in communities before the
before government
It was to those early times that community
most often returned
in describing
what had
made them sustainable. In assessing the term “sustainable”, needed. To our Partnership, mous with “lucrative” Fish,:ng
banks
off Newfoundland
Sustainable
Coastal
“sustainable”
or “profitable”
We adopt the definition and
some benchmarks
is not synony-
or “able to survive”.
of the Brundtland
Report (the
Labrador
Communities
and
Marine
Ecosystems
in
Newfoundland
are
and
Labrador
the harp seal harvest, that sustained
hundreds
of small
communities. The fishery that sustained small outport
communities
Newfoundland
and Labrador’s
was not merely based on one
species, nor did it follow one seasonal fishing pattern. commercial
fishery itself was more than cod. Early fish-
eries focussed as well on salmon, herring the range of species caught broadened
and seals; later,
to include, among
others, lobster, capelin, redfish, lumpfish, der, squid and shrimp. on Environment
1987) which defined
sustainable
and Development,
development
which meets the needs of the current sacrificing
generation
the ability of future generations
and geography.
as that
schooner
to meet their
For the most part, the coastal communities,
fishery that pre-dated
definition,
by the
have been sustainable
ing the offshore
for 500
abundant.
Newfoundland
fish-
schooner
fishery. In other words, it on a year-round
basis.
quantity
fish slowed the progress marine ecosystem
were
When John Cabot first sailed to
in I497 contemporary
such an enormous
diminished
from Port aux
or at least at the point of initial
contact, the waters off Newfoundland
unbelievably
offshore
was one such winter inshore
offered nearly full employment,
In the beginning,
offshore
the modern-day
ery. It was an ice-free coast with a 50-week fishery, includ-
years.
European
fishery, as well as an extended
Basques to Trepassey,
Brundtland
availability of species
fishery. The south coast of the province,
needs.
floun-
There were ice-free coastal areas with a
winter inshore
without
turbot,
The types of fishery were deter-
mined by climate, ice conditions, World Commission
The
accounts
3
reported
of cod that the sheer mass of
of European
vessels. The entire
was rich in a way so fundamentally
to modern
eyes that it merits some note.
The seabird colonies were such a feature of the Atlantic coastal ecosystem approached
that early explorers
land through
knew they had
the noisy and prodigious
of birds. Whales in profusion
filled the seas, along with
seals and many species of fish. It is important ber that the ecosystem
included
residence,
It included
anything
to remem-
the Beothucks. exterminated
humans
dant and defenceless
province’s
no longer in
creature.
There was an industry
and right whales -were
in
pations,
walrus. The
extremely
Labrador.
fins and blues, were also seriously over-hunted, more recent times. But through fishery was sustainable.
Sustainable
Coastal
the centuries,
and
the pattern
People were But just as the
fishery in much of the province. the community
that kept the activity was the by a seasonal seal
As well, men would leave
to work in the woods, some for months
a time.
but in the cod
It was the cod fishery, along with
Communities
alive. A major traditional
seal hunt: income was supplemented
and are still
rare. Other whale species, such as humpbacks,
both for cash and subsistence,
communities
The bowhead
nearly exterminated,
different.
fishery was seasonal, so too were a myriad of other occu-
Basques ran a major whaling station, the largest in the world, at Red Bay in southern
had a more seasonal
able to fish seasonally in the groundfishery.
abun-
coast, the
ice conditions,
of life in the fishery was distinctly
for its eggs, its oil, its feathers,
Islands based on hunting
east coast communities
fishery. There, due to prevalent
a flightless bird, the
that could be derived from this extremely
the Magdalene
From St. John’s north and to the Labrador
itself is more than cod. The ecosys-
tem found by Europeans great auk -
flocks
Marine
The fishery on the western
coast was roughly similar to
that of the east coast. In recent years, they had redfish,
Ecosystems
in
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
at
flounder,
herring,
halibut and shrimp,
part they too were dependent
Even though the economy
but for the most
reliant on a host of other seasonal activities that
Dominion
supplemented
bankrupt
incomes
and larders during the non-fishing
of Newfoundland
diversified, early days of settlement, ment, the merchant
outports.
In the
set the price for fish they bought
They
from fishers in the com-
munity,
they set the price for goods bought by the com-
munity,
and they extended
of next season’s fish. Women
kept gardens which were an important gardening
part of their sur-
was supplemented
ing livestock. The gardens themselves the sea, as they were fertilized
on
with seaweed, fish offal and
capelin. An informal
barter
added to the com-
munity’s
survival with a great
butter-making, medicinal
preparing
of
of outport
of attempted
family, with men bringing
Economic
economic
rural Newfoundland.
diversification
opportunities
However,
brought
to many parts of
the policy of industrial-
to graft Newfoundland
onto
body. It was a romantic
notion
down or drastically
economic
reduced
developments
employment
So in some communities,
in
after the answer
to have jobs on the railway.” Confederation including
came
“We used to have a mine” and “We used
an infrastructure
on
shut
prior to the cod
sustainable,
that was of paramount
did develop importance,
roads, bridges, schools, cottage hospitals,
an attempt
etc., in
to remedy 400 years of neglect.
cutting out
Bartering
of ser-
Throughout
most of the history of Newfoundland small coastal communities,
and other forms of skilled
safety net. As Confederation
brought
labour, involved a complicated
sion and other benefits
1949,
set of craftsman-client
communities
ties. There were few idle moments
The industrial
an already dying industrial
Labrador’s
rela-
of the communi-
in traditional
beginnings
after
did not become
grams overnight.
that added to the
sustainability
wanted to
ization was a futile attempt
vices, such as boat-building
tionships
to
life led to the drastic
forced resettlement.
model was pursued.
other answers:
ery itself involved the whole
cod tongues.
prepared
(who became the
of Newfoundland)
that fish had made their community
herbs, etc. The fish-
the flakes, children
marine as well as a
in his view. The desire to end the
conditions
moratorium.
knitting,
the cod, women working
solution
to study
increasingly
lives of fishers and farmers. They
these post-Confederation
deal of work done by the spinning,
of the Province
were not “modern,”
the
that ignored the realities of the market. Thus, many of
economy
women -
first Premier
some additional
with rais-
were dependent
merchant
Joey Smallwood
change the subsistence “primitive”
credit, allowing fishers to buy
staple items on the promise vival. Small-scale
enter Confederation,
held a monop-
oly over virtually every aspect of the local economy.
was established
was, however,
few mines and pulp mills. As Newfoundland
even before there was a govern-
class ruled. Merchants
The economy with a thriving
developed
manufacturing,
was by 1933 essentially
and a royal commission
the situation.
seasons. Life was never easy in Newfoundland’s
had been somewhat
with mines, pulp mills and small-scale
on cod. They too were
dependent
as well as to the buildup
on social pro-
we visited, the
on social programs
linked with the decline of availability
outport
life.
in the old-age pen-
life did change. But the
In the communities
of the dependency
and
there was no social
was
of fish in the region,
of the fishery in the late 1970s
and early 1980s. Over the last periods
500
years there were a number
of severe deprivation,
tors including
Whether
caused by a variety of fac-
wars, depressions,
and localized fluctuations
of notable
expressed
reflecting our meetings
the belief that there had been a stronger
com-
munity spirit in those bygone days before the relative prosperity
From the beginning,
seasonality
of resources
and natural variability
created severe problems.
20th century, pre-Confederation already troubled
the past or accurately
the change in values, many people attending
the decline in markets
in the availability of fish. Times
were hard indeed.
abundance
romanticizing
Newfoundland
in
By the
Coastal
Communities
we had in the past was tightly knit.
Everyone helped each other. We had a great deal of bar-
was
tering. And we’ve lost it in the name of prosperity.
by the seasonal nature of the fishery.
Sustainable
of recent years. They recall greater co-opera-
tion. “The community
started living according
and
Marine
Ecosystems
in
We
to want instead of need.”
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
In discussing
the past sustainability
ties, there were certain watershed to again and again as benchmarks. -
of coastal communidates that were referred 1949 -
was such a date, as was the resettlement
as was described
we moved into the next phase of our discussion “What made your community
of the
when
by asking,
unsustainable?”
of the
insurance
ly took hold and began to play a role in decisions the fishery, ranging through
upon it, ceased to be sustainable. drastically
Confederation
Zone by Canada. We heard
a range of dates as to when unemployment
that depended
program
late 1960s. Then there was 1977 and the extension 200-mile Exclusive Economic
munities
But the scene changed
real-
about
the late 1970s and early
WHAT MADE OUR COMMUNITIES UNSUSTAINABLE? Just as every community
answered
1980s. Then, of course, there was the moratorium
sustainability
announcement
did they ascribe their current
on July 2,1992.
with a resounding
the question
of past
chorus of “Fish!“, so too
perilous
economic,
social
and cultural status to the collapse of the codfish stocks. Although
the focus of our Partnership
opportunities
for future sustainability,
date to examine
was to define we also had a man-
the current Newfoundland
study of potential
more fundamentally, future sustainability
crisis as a case
benefit to other fishing economies.
But,
it was simply not possible to discuss without
a full debate about the causes
of the collapse of the valuable resource dreds of fishing communities
upon which hun-
had depended
for hundreds
of years. It should surprise no one that community dominated In identifying
what had made the community
these twin issues of strong community absence of government comments
dependency
of round-table
Community
residents
that historically,
values and an
frequently
fishing technology
to the fact
had been fairly limited
fish. Over and over, we heard
that if we had stayed with a hook-and-line
rich cod stocks
to the brink of extinction.
5
One of the
world’s greatest protein
resources,
taining annual landings
of more than 250,000 to 350,000
once capable of sus-
metric tons (M/T), has been allowed to decline to virtual oblivion.
This annihilation
mirrored
by only slightly less serious decreases
ground&h
fishery, we
were
by the issues of the fishery and its demise.
Over the past two decades these incredibly have been brought
ranked high in the
participants.
also referred
in its ability to eradicate
sustainable,
meetings
of the northern
cod has been in other
species.
would have a lucrative fishery today. The fishery was sustainable for so long because we lacked the technology be totally destructive.
When we acquired
to
that technology,
around 1950, we began the destruction
of resources
has characterized
the world. In Burnt
fisheries throughout
Islands, one resident
900 .,
_
,_
.
2J3KL COD
that
recalled: “(In earlier times) we
caught fish. We got into trouble when we started hunting fish.” He referred the inshore
here to the relatively passive nature of
cod fishery. The fishers waited for the cod to
come inshore.
They lacked the technology
fish out to the offshore, centrations
to chase the
to track them down in great con-
in the spawning
200 ‘i, .
areas. Fish as we hunt them
p ii, t;t 0 ,z ..t.tt b~.-.kI ,-I .-,-I ,:, -I , I., I-I 1 ! 1 I I I 1 . I1 1985 1990 1995 1970 1975 1960 1965 1980 YEAR
100 .; ; ,_.
now have few places to hide. But the fishery was changing defining
Sustainable
moment
rapidly. There was no one
when the fishery, and the coastal com-
Coastal
._ ._ ..
Communities
and
Marine
Ecosystems
in
Newfoundland
.
and
Labrador
Members
of fishing-dependent
communities
that this could have happened eries management. cries of warning communities Moreover,
in an era of modern
fish-
from the small inshore
were ignored
their views are still ignored commercially
fishing-dependent believe
by those in power. They
be identified,
and
offshore
way of life, i.e. the
and France. The introduction
heavily powered-vessels,
origin, equipped
in
primarily
with otter trawls (known as
ended the inshore’s abundant
harvest. The
dragger fleet was capable of fishing in deeper
water than had been previously and exploiting
-
in hunting
tions of cod wherever
overview
small-
cod stocks were also traditionally
fished by Spain, Portugal
“draggers”)
never repeated.
Historical
their traditional
The northern
of European
that the
discussed
fleet out of Nova Scotia, the only
fishing the stock were Newfoundland
the 1960s of deep-sea
abundance
extinct, it is important
causes of such devastation
inshore.
that communities
of such historic
Canadians
boat fishers pursuing
as the crisis worsened.
we heard repeatedly
Up until the late 1950s or early 196Os, with the exception of a small schooner
We heard over and over again that the
believe that when a resource becomes
are outraged
accessible and of locating
fashion -
huge concentra-
they assembled.
(i) ln~skore
Historical northern
record indicates
that fixed-gear
cod from the beginning
landings
of
of the 20th century until
the introduction
of the deep-sea
dragger fleets in the late
I95Os, sustained
an annual harvest of 250,000 to 350,000
MIT. This harvest was achieved within the constraints existing technology
6
of the
and the limits set by the labour associ-
ated with the preparation
of salt fish. The annual harvest
was always subject to some degree of fluctuation. fluctuations
were related to a variety of factors
These -
as the price collapse in the I89Os, the depression 193Os, the economic
such The invasion
in the
of foreign draggers in the early 1960s com-
mitted a massive assault
chaos of two World Wars.
upon the spawning
The peak catch was an astronomical Notwithstanding
these fluctuations,
cates that fixed-gear
landings
decrease in abundance, sure to a magnitude
historical
record indi-
of cod could, without
apparently
any
a one-time-only
anomalous
excessively high landings
sustain fishing pres-
spike on the graph. These
by foreign draggers led to drastic
declines in Newfoundland’s
of 350,000 M/T.
a mere fraction Inshore
inshore
of its historically
seasons became shorter.
with their own technological introduction
Northern Cod Catches
aggregations.
800,000 M/T in 1968,
fishery, reducing
high sustainable
mainly the
giving the inshore mobility
up to 50 miles from shore. Even with enormous
4875 - 1992
in fishing effort, however,
inshore
landings
ous declines far deeper than anything ed. Catches fell in 1974, for example,
(ii) 200-mile The crisis brought
catches.
The fishers responded
innovations,
of longliners,
previously
record-
to 35,000 M/T.
limit on by overfishing
by foreign draggers zone in
1977. The 200-mile limit was viewed enthusiastically to rebuild the stocks and establish
aimed at ensuring
Sustainable
Coastal
Communities
and
Marine
Ecosystems
of
increases
suffered seri-
led Canada to declare a 200-mile management opportunity
it to
long-term
in
as an
strategies
viability. As we heard in
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
many communities, a “Klondike
the post-1977
mentality.”
If the foreigners
800,000 M/T, surely, under Canadian
technology,
significantly bonanza
assistance
In 1979, the Canadian on the southwest
for Newfoundland.
were poured
was mandat-
into offshore vessels,
offshore
dragger fleet (based largely
coast of Newfoundland
Scotia) was deliberately rationale
industry
gear and plants.
With
an annual catch of 400,000 M/T,
and management
offshore
of millions of federal tax dollars of direct
and indirect
mea-
higher than historic catch levels, would be a
The scientific
of the Canadian
ed. Hundreds
had caught
conservation
sures, a catch of 400,000 M/T was reasonable. improved
expansion
period was typified by
introduced
and in Nova
into the northern
stock(s) for the first time. The federal government
for a 400,000
cod
provid-
M/T per year catch was set forth in the Fisheries minister’s
ed subsidies
“Policy for Canada’s Commercial
through
various devices. One such device was the intro-
duction
in 1982 of Enterprise
1976 in anticipation
to serve as a guide for rebuilding stock(s).
released in
the northern
historical
biomass”
capable of sustaining
levels. The management
essentially
cod
Its stated objective was to “engender
the spawning adopted
Fisheries,”
of the 200-mile limit. The policy was
of the exploitable
property
strategy of FO. 1 was
the amount Commission
estimated
create a sustainable Department
of northern
of the rest. 100
i.e. 45- to 65-foot, draggers. These vessels were
southwest
(ICNAF) to
level of harvest. Based on its projec-
tions of the rate of rebuilding
of
Peninsula.
They were licensed to drag for fish on Newfoundland’s
biomass was
Atlantic Fisheries
and result-
the retention
from the Port au Choix area on the Northern
of 1.5 million M/T was a
necessary by the International
for Northwest
-
Also, in the early 198Os, DFO licensed approximately “inshore,”
biomass
cod.
of a common
to one of a private resource
only the most valuable fish and the discarding
an annual harvest of about 20%
goal to be achieved by 1982. This spawning
(EA), which
a shift from the notion
resource
ed in the practice of “high-grading”
biomass.
The target spawning
Allocations
gave the holder title to so much northern
This represented
growth in a harvest at
to facilitate achieving the policy goal. Simply, the
FO. 1 target would permit
on fuel and fish and tried to ensure success
coast.
As we heard in our community enthusiasm
cod, the
brought
1987-88, there were roughly
of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) forecast a
meetings,
ber had doubled
-
7
10,000 people in the fishery.
By the time of the moratorium
Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 402,000 M/T by 1985.
the post-1977
many people into the fishery. In announcement,
or, including
tripled. In a social context,
that num-
those in fish plants,
there was a marked shift from
the fishery being seen as the employer something
more technologically
potentially
profitable.
of last resort to
advanced,
The government
and something
gave out lucrative
licences for species that were only fished over a very short season, such as squid and capelin. policy through
As well, government
the Fisheries Loan Board made it possible
for just about anybody to buy a boat. Many fish plants were also being built with government in communities Members
help -
now recall cynically as a great way for
of the House of Assembly
This period also saw the widespread
to get re-elected. acceptance
sonal fishery coupled with unemployment These and other optimistic
projections
recovery created near-euphoria ing-dependent
communities
the off-season.
of rapid stock
in the industry.
distributed
were told that under a 200-
Sustainable
Coastal
Communities
incomes
to those of the 195Os,
and
Marine
dependency
insurance increased
in as
and more fish plants were built. Material
expectations
inshore would not be able to catch it all. In the expectaat least comparable
Government
of a sea-
more people came into the fishery, more licences were
The fish-
mile limit there was going to be so much fish that the tion-of landings
what many
grew as people became accustomed
and greater buying power. Rising expectations
are, of course, not unique to Newfoundland Labrador.
Ecosystems
to higher
in
and
North Americans
in general now expect air
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
conditioning
in summer
and access to microwaved
food
There had never been a failure in the inshore
and satellite communications.
But as the fishery grew,
nitude experienced
incomes
on government
stock collapsed
after foreign overfishing.
Compounding
the problem,
rose and dependency
became
of the mag-
in the 1980s other than when the
part of the social fabric, with real costs to long-term sustainability.
caught. This indicator In hindsight,
it is easy to see that management
were themselves spawning
overly optimistic.
biomass were only that -
entire industry
estimates.
was rebuilt, “Canadianized,”
tured on the basis of the estimate
strategies
The estimates
the entire ecosystem pre-200-mile
Yet an
There was abundant
and restruc-
adapted
of a 400,000 M/T fishery it
due to the foreign draggers in the
foreign overfishing
from within our 200-mile limit,
that once having banished
Canada set out to duplicate fishing with damaging
visited a num-
and continued
of the way an industry
to profit from a dying resource. had been purchased,
A
capable of
smaller cod while simultaneously
replacing
eight to ten people in the fish plant. The industry adapted to smaller fish by shipping
limit period. The irony was raised frequently meetings
Our Partnership
evidence
new filleting machine processing
the damage that had been done to
in our community
stock was in seri-
ber of fish plants where we toured the idle equipment.
by 1985. If there was one single failing in this period, was in underestimating
ous trouble was ignored.
of
smaller cod were being
that the spawning
also
out cod that had been
merely headed and gutted for later drying in Denmark
or
Portugal. Two clear warning
the foreign example of over-
individual
technology.
indicators
-
the reduced
size of the
fish landed plus the overall drop in the inshore
catch -were
ignored.
If they had been canaries in the
coal mine, by analogy, the miners would have had to push (iii)
Drastic
declines
in inshore
aside the dead birds to get at the coal. As we heard over
catches
and over in small communities, The stock may have managed 1982. The TAC increased
8
to grow slowly from 1978 to
from 135,000 M/T in 1978 to
266,000 M/T in 1984. Small improvements under Canadian
management
reinforced
boom time had arrived. However, experience
declining
inshore
catches dropped
increased
continuing
the idea that a
inshore
fishers were told
that it was they who must
wrong, as the offshore
that was wiping out the
cod stocks acted to mask the crisis. As sonar and radar and greater mobility
From a peak in 1982,
allowed even the inshore to improve
catches, the level of landed cod gave a false impression
despite vastly
the health of the resource
of
as a whole.
effort in that sector. The decline was unique. (iv)
Warnings
of crisis
Many fishers, plant workers and concerned dependent
on the inshore
attempts
catches. We heard of their
to gain the ear of various government
and of direct action in dumping the inshore
equipment
dragger fleet into the harbour
Basques. There were sit-ins and protests of the inshore
within the expected
young journalist
Even in the “worst” years, 1890 to 1924, the inshore caught less than 180,000 M/T and rarely dropped
Sustainable
never
three times the landings
Communities
to
at Port aux during the period
she attended, inshore
range. Moreover,
as a
recalled in one of our sessions, in every fishers blamed the draggers for
catches and urged government
tect the stocks. Yet the references
to pro-
to draggers never
seemed to make it to the evening news, or even to the
below 225,000 M/T.
Coastal
declining
officials
connected
catches, steep descent, while the offshore
yield remained meeting
citizens
fishery raised the alarm about
the drastic decline in inshore
in 1987 -
draggers were
to bring in large catches. The irony is that the
very efficiency of the technology
the inshore began to
dramatically
regulators
be doing something
in catches
catches before the same problem
began to occur in the offshore.
by the government
minutes
and
Marine
of the meeting.
Ecosystems
in
The failure of those within com-
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
munities
Committee
who tried in vain to avert the crisis has had the
undesirable
spades by the way the views of inshore
293,000 M/T. Federal government
in
fishers were dis-
contributes
to
unsustainability. Community
torical record. The Newfoundland (NIFA), founded
frustration
Inshore
in response
NIFA hired a group of independent University
to conduct
DFO’s assessments. Keats Report
In December
concluding
lations were incorrect
20%, bringing
their calculations
the report asserted,
biologists a technical
A decision to drastically
to make. The political nature by many as one of the proxi-
assessments
the fishery. Where politicians
was largely underes-
DFO actually set a higher TAC.
they were not interested conservation
it seems clear that the views of the inshore
fish-
dealt with through
improved
sustainability,
any political
as the stocks
down
And
defeating
for unemployment about the declining
In terms of
created by government
social programs
state of unsustainability.
to the current
(v) Acknowledgement
tell them
acknowledged they thought,
down,
in your
UI .
B The
cod
we visited do not
attribute
the moratorium
Sustainable
Atlantic Fisheries
Coastal
that the moratorium
Fisheries Products
International’s
empty. As one fisher said bitterly, “FPI declared the moratorium.”
They
since 1979 was dou-
and certainly not suf-
Marine
we became
the
heard.
Ecosvstems
in
communify
meeting,
Labrador
Newfoundland
and
We heard
draggers came back
realized that
and
“But
qualified
was not declared until
Scientific Advisory
Communities
was
to a political decision.
ficient to justify a TAC in 1988 of 266,000 MIT. The Canadian
area
mare
ot Forieau
stokeholders’
that because the stock was smaller than
smaller than predicted,
say,
an government,
less our voice
ble the target level of FO.l. In other words, the stock was dramatically
they’d
set
of crisis
actual fishing mortality
and
Many in com-
munities repeatedly
In every
there were serious errors in the stock assessments.
the fish were
By July 1992, the moratorium was declared.
to qualify
was a major con-
It was not until 1989 that federal scientists
against
us. We’d
for
that
on the fishing of northern
we visited, many believed that complacency
tributor
use that
would
everyone
the TAC at 235,000 MIT.
kept people in the fishery,
cod stocks in the inshore.
the gov-
ernment
dependent
quelling what would have been louder howls of protest community
then
in that
100,000 M/T, the minister
this appears to have been a self-
insurance
again.
going
from fishers was
strategy. Fewer weeks work required
went
the 1989 TAC should be
that while
social programs.
from
complaining
Fisher
long-term
and
the reverse.
While DFO calculated
held sway over political decisions
relating to the TAC, the political pressure
measures
would accomplish
ers were ignored on issues of setting quotas and alloca-
the large corporations
kept them
people
had for the last decade used
over-
the fishery to get re-elected,
to us concluded
satisfied
UI kept
mate causes of the decline of
fished. But in 1987 and 1988, despite these warnings,
effect. One analysis presented
The
of decision making was seen
and calcu-
the size of the stock. As a result,
tions, it is not so clear that they were without
lost our fish.
not have
mately the Fisheries minister’s
audit of
1986, they fned the
fishing mortality
we would
reduce the quota was ulti-
from
that DFO’s methods
If not for UI,
more than a scientific matter.
and their
and, in fact, the stock was being drastically
Although
of FO.l to
the
issue of setting the quota was
its own study.
and were producing
that greatly overestimated timated
that FO. 1 must be revised down by an
additional
recall with real emotion,
Fishers to a growing
went so far as to commission
Memorial
on CAFSAC
concluded
As many in communities
are borne out by his-
that no one spoke for the inshore
concerns,
scientists
100,000 MIT.
views on these matters
Association
in 1989 that the previ-
ous year’s FO.l level was actually 125,000 M/T and not
effect of creating a sense of powerlessness.
The view that “you can’t fight city hall” was reinforced
missed out of hand. Powerlessness
(CAFSAC) concluded
Labrador
9
an environmental
assessment
before it should ever be
used again. Many argued that draggers should simply be banned. A number expressed
of things are remarkable in the 13 communities
Partnership.
about the views visited by our
For all the widely divergent
topics, the communities
appeared
was the following “It is the
dragger technology
for the col-
that is most responsible
lapse of the cod stocks. It leads to catches beyond
views on many
unanimous
Typical of those comments
from a fisher at our Burnt Islands meeting:
able levels, it has huge by-catches,
on a num-
porting
and misjudgment
sustain-
and encourages
misre-
of stocks.”
ber of points. Not once did anyone suggest that the collapse of the cod fishery was due to abnormal tal conditions,
Repeatedly
environmen-
such as cold water. Not once did anyone
through
we were told that the process of dragging
spawning
suggest the collapse was due to the actions of foreign fleets
reproductive
outside the ZOO-mile limit. Not once did anyone suggest
very “catchable”
that seals had eaten all the cod. Nor did anyone in communities
Conservation else.
In our individual members
ries advanced
(FRCC94.TD.4,
aggregation
December
types of gear and technologies
and
While not
the
often quoted
“Too
of whether including
versial gill nets and Japanese cod traps. Though as susceptible be reported
to misreporting
For example,
purse seiners sold herring
most affected.
shore, in exchange herring
the rich cod stocks. Many believed adequate
time to
pronounced
Flounder,
haddock,
American
plaice, sole, turbot,
or currently
technology
that the technology
outpaced
most often associated
the
assaults. The
with the disaster in the
The
fishery was virtually wiped out in this fashion.
expressed
ability to recover from repeated
ever coming on
for part of the Russian allocation.
and many other species were mentioned
frequently
localized
“over the side,” directly to
recover when Canada set the ZOO-mile limit. It was also
ecosystem’s
had to
in St. George’s, Canadian
Russian factory freezer vessels without was that domestic
contro-
gear types were not
for DFO purposes.
over-exploitation.
in the small communities
cer-
the contro-
because all landings
As well, certain species experienced
many fishers chasing
they used
on the community,
versial, it was noted that these inshore
theo-
and of
of the guilt and shared responsi-
tain other gear types were discussed,
found it notable that
ries, including
of misreporting
of fish dead over the side were
fixed or mobile gear. Depending
recov-
such fashionable
practices
other
recalled the abuses of
bility of nearly all fishers, regardless
ery of the stocks, we
that we simply never gave the ecosystem
is not
1994).
were not held blameless.
meetings
large quantities
often cited as examples
above may be factors in the troubled
the past. The common discarding
of some or all of the
destroyed
impact
that “the impact of the
a spawning
Many at the community
denying that elements
overfishing
Interestingly,
But despite the strong views on dragger technology,
by the
media, politicians
What was said in every community
and
Partnership
all of the above theo-
too few fish,” do not resonate
overfishing.
of the environmental
Council concluded
gear being towed through yet known”
have heard
academics.
aggregations
of various gear types from the Fisheries Resource
stocks had merely
capacities,
in such concentrated
the most recent assessment
theory that the cod
to the
process of the species. Of course, fish are
this fact alone could encourage
advance the
gone somewhere
areas must have been damaging
being,
many communities
severely overfished. expressed
a concern
redfish
as having been, In particular, that there should
be no capelin fishery, as capelin is at the base of the food
offshore was that of dragging the ocean floor. Most people
chain. As one fisher in Forteau put it, “We’re destroying
suspect that draggers damage bottom
the cod’s food source. How in hell can you raise a herd of
habitat and that this
seriously impacts many species. In fact, in every community it was asserted that dragger technology
Sustainable
Coastal
cattle with a little handful
of grass?”
must undergo
Communities
and
Marine
Ecosystems
in
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
Certain attitudes
and ethics were also associated
collapse of the fishery. A denial of personal was cited often, encapsulated
with the
in the attitude,
about the declining with the insidious
In our meetings
“Don’t
blame me, I had a quota and I caught it.” Personal collective greed were often mentioned,
and
addition
as was apathy
fish stocks, which was usually coupled effect of massive government
of community
One community
Renews said: “The community
member
in
we had in the past was
tightly knit. We all helped each other out.... But we lost that spirit in the name of prosperity.
We’ve been living
to want instead of to need. It was encouraged
by government
and it’s nearly destroyed
community
members
help their community unteer burnout,”
us.”
many people expressed
in a state of “vol-
as the same people are expected
more for a community
to do
that appears willing to do less for
itself. The issue of volunteer ly as an aspect of current
burnout
vision of its sustainability.
was raised repeated-
In
or future sustainability,
their hopes, fears and concerns
about the future. In this section, we will review some of
have a reasonable
These viewpoints
must
if any plans for the future are to
hope of being adopted
by the commu-
nities most affected. As a preliminary
If we
point, we
hod
o piece
of land
and
should report the nearly universally expressed
without
run a tractor
concern
that our Partnership “just another
who do donate their time to
find themselves
of issues were raised that are
the themes that arose repeatedly.
spirit was also seen as part of
the path to unsustainability.
CONCERNS
to views on past, present
be carefully respected
The erosion
Those
a variety
relevant to a community’s
dependency.
according
HOPES, FEARS AND
responsibility
year,
any tangible positive
Moreover,
it 365
days
o
would be
task force,”
changes resulting
over
you
would
just see how
grow
much
on it. But you can’t
from it.
the view was fre-
quently expressed
see the damage
being
done
on
that when-
ever people had participated
the ocean
floor.
in a task force or public hear-
unsustainability.
ing process, the report did not Another
concern
was that the loss of people from com-
munities
now contributed
to making them unsustainable.
Every family moved to Toronto with the grim certainty
or Calgary was marked
that their departure
much harder for the community is widespread
made it that
to survive. The concern
that the communities
will die slowly, and
the loss of people is like an open wound.
Given an understandable
troubled
themselves
to attend meetings.
did concentrate
on what caused the col-
lapse of the fishery, as if the two questions But in answering
the question
nity unsustainable Frequently
people went beyond government
sense of powerlessness. ultimately communities
of what made the commu-
people raised concerns
values, increased
were the same.
the fishery.
about an erosion of
dependency
and a pervasive
These more subtle changes may
play a critical role in whether
or not individual
will survive.
on the hopes, fears and concerns dependent
Sustainable
communities
Coastal
of remote,
in Newfoundland
Communities
to reporting fishingand Labrador.
and
Marine
When challenged
was that
“Overfishing
is the overwhelming,
to reportindeed
the only,
cause
of fishery
nities as fairly and completely collapse.”
as possible. We also encouraged people to use our sessions, at which a broad spec-
Fisheries
trum of people from the community
gathered,
scientist
Partnership
meeting,
Dr.
Rum
could be initiated
as a spring-
decisions
in the community,
by remote powers.
promise.
ings helped to overcome slate of “outsiders”
Ecosystems
in
on what we could
tone we maintained the tension
and
at the meet-
that arises when a
visits a small community.
Newfoundland
waiting for
In general, the people we
the limitations
The informal
without
Labrador
Myers,
St. John’s
board for positive action that
talked to understood
The next section of our report is dedicated
we were pleased
from previous
ing what we heard in commuunsustainable?”
11
on why anyone should expect the round table Partnership efforts, our response
“What made your community
Lobrodor
level
of cynicism in these small communities,
we were committed
The answer to the question
Mokkovik,
that so many gave our effort the benefit of the doubt and
to be different
Conclusion
Fisher,
seem to reflect their concerns.
The predominant
hope and fear always circled around
the
Opinion
was less optimistic
when it came to the fish
same issue: the return of the fishery. It is clear that the
species; indeed, we encountered
vast majority
the lump roe fishery is sustainable.
of people in coastal communities
perately that the fishery will return.
hope des-
It is equally clear that
most fear that recovery is not possible;
hear Ipeople in the course of a single statement from a certainty
about the current
Many stark fears were
and future status of the
capelin stocks. The turbot fishery was universally
“There’s nothing
left to spawn” was a widely held view. It was fascinating
expressed
no one who believed that
to
vacillate
viewed
as in serious trouble. As for the future, we often heard about people’s queasy
that the fishery will never recover to the
dread that the cod fishery will be reopened
hope that it must.
to political pressure
too early due
and that the stocks will never be
allowed to rebuild to a truly healthy state. This fear is all the stronger participate future, Has fisheries management
changed
sufficiently
ensure that there will never be a repetition
to
there be one; as a result they see no reason
political and corporate
other than past pressures -
will influence
we did not formally pose this question
community
in our
visits, we certainly heard strong views on the
believe that fisheries management
every meeting commercial
people expressed
is likely to improve, is concerned,
at
the fear that many other
to it as “a domino
effect.” Another
that species seemed to go “from underutilized Capelin, lumpfish,
redfish, turbot,
of the fisheries, resulting
intense bickering,
pleading
desperate
further
in
and backroom
deal-
said
collapse.
takes was not confined agement.
has not learned from past misto concerns
There was a widespread
same errors are being repeated
and lob-
especially forestry.
about fisheries manperception
both fisheries and forestry management
past are being repeated.
harvesting
sectors,
common include:
to
high
levels beyond what would appear to be sustain-
able, increasing
reliance on intensive
due consideration impacts,
that the
in other resource
Some of the symptoms
ster were all cited as cases in which the mistakes of the In the case of shellfish, the allega-
com-
and driving the fishery into permanent
The fear that government
to gone.”
crab, shrimp
more than a pale semblance
munities
species are going the way of the cod. One par-
referred
with no
scenario is the worst of all possible worlds, dividing
in DFO, and no reason to
now or in the future. As far as the present
making.
making to carve up the meagre pie. For some, this
subject. Over and over again people made it clear that they had little confidence
-
decision
The fear is that we will limp along indefinitely
Although
ticipant
have not been able to
in any public dialogue about the fishery of the
should
to believe that anything
of the fisheries
collapse?
12
because communities
of the environmental
transformation to one managed
primarily
concerns,
lack of value-added
property
for large industrial
processing,
harvesting
without
and social
of a “common
resource”
use of mechanized
technology
and increased
and processing
methods
that favour efficiency over employment. The fear that individuals
have not learned from past mis-
takes was also voiced in several communities. CAPELIN tion. was made that in switching
in any meaningful
altering our in a sustain-
(On the topic of crab the discussion
for the most part on the unfairness than on sustainability
Sustainable
of allocations
Communities
gard for the conservation
of poaching of poaching
in some commuand cavalier disre-
impacts -whether
centred
own actions or those of their neighbours
rather
uted to the widespread
considerations.)
Coastal
cerns about the prevalence nities. People’s tolerance
way. Other people, however,
said that crab and lobster are being managed able fashion.
willingly go out and catch the last fish. We also heard con-
from fish to inverte-
brates, we’ve simply changed victims without methods
We were
told that, tragically, there are people today who would
and
attitude
fish, and that conservation
“someone
else’s” responsibility.
Ecosystems
in
it be their was attrib-
that the salmon are “gov-
ernment”
Marine
-
Newfoundland
and enforcement
and
Labrador
is
Other signals were more mixed. For instance, heard people express hopes for benefits underutilized emphasis,
from so-called
species, such as sea urchins
however,
to recognize
we often
The tourism
on the short
promote
term gains to be realized; there was relatively little discussion of conservation
considerations
have a long tradition
for species that do not
of use in this province.
sion seems to be that these non-traditional perceived
The condu-
“get over the hump” until the traditional but it is not anticipated
same role in the community non-traditional
aquaculture,
fisheries can be
tourism
or manufacturing.
In the meetings
brochures
unpacked
They apparently
of
symptom
of the “overpass
lives and well-being
a corner with
Others, however,
were too little, too late; and some went so far as to say that it was a meaningless
gesture, one that is hypocritical
in the
light of Canada’s continuing
support
and our record in managing
the cod stocks. As one partic-
for a turbot fishery,
seem to indi-
attractions,
without potential
much that
At the very least it is a
syndrome”:
residents
of St.
to and ignorance
of those “unfortunate
of the
souls” who
to live in other regions of the province.
While some attributed
taken by Canada
and
strategy is focussed pri-
John’s are accused of indifference happen
the view that the measures
tourism
exists in all corners of the province.
the forceful action Canada had taken. For some, this was
expressed
we were told that the Bay de Verde Peninsula
of the wealth of tourism
reason to think that Canada had turned respect to fisheries conservation.
of Tourism
in a box, never having been
marily on a few “big-name”
Canada and approval
that a
to the tourist chalet in Whitbourne
cate that the province’s
that took place toward the end of our visof the dispute between
promoting
or put on display. These blunders
consideration
Spain over turbot stocks, there was universal
from ignorance
to his astonishment Department
to
evidence of
A representative
an example of government
spent the entire summer
from
and way of life.
its, after the resolution
tourism
were shipped
have only a minor role to play in helping to sustain a traditional livelihood
and incompetence.
Ramea provided
fully paved. As for incompetence,
that the fisheries played. The no different
by communities
and Culture was unaware that the Burgeo Road is now
they will ever play the
diversification,
ignorance
and attempts
in their regions provided
senior official in the provincial
fisheries are simply seen as a much-need-
ed form of economic
industry
tourism
when he related discovering
species are
to have a role to play in helping communities
reinstated,
of the fisheries as the main-
stay of an entire way of life.
or kelp. The
was almost invariably
the importance
and incompetence
such an attitude
of government
more sinister interpretation.
to the ignorance
officials, others had a
There is a widespread
in a hidden agenda. People fear that government
belief has
made decisions
with the aim of getting rid of the inshore
fishing industry
and ultimately
ipant said, “That wasn’t the first liner to go in a net, and they weren’t Spanish nets either.”
2. THE FATE OF RURAL NEWFOUNDLAND COASTAL COMMUNITIES Although
the people we heard from were concerned
about the survival of their own communities, also very interested
in the broader
small rural Newfoundland was a widespread throughout
Newfoundland
sis, one that threatens
topic of the survival of
communities
perception
they were
in general.
There
that small communities and Labrador
face a major cri-
to end an entire way of life.
The blame for this state of affairs was laid squarely on government-both
federal and provincial
what is perceived ignorance
undermining
Government,
small communities
(either by
deliberate
attempt
ernments
to undermine
Coastal
we were told, simply refuses
Communities
and
Marine
across the province
in
that for
is evidence
of a
by both the federal and provincial the social and economic
tions of rural Newfoundland.
Ecosvstems
the communities
upon it. They fear that the lack of support
and on
or by design) of the values essential to rural
Newfoundland.
Sustainable
as a systematic
-
depend
Newfoundland
What we are witnessing,
and
Labrador
gov-
founda-
13
they told us, is simply the outward tlement
under another
manifestation
vided by a person from Petty Harbour, that DFO’s refusal to enforce to a deliberate
attempt
undermine
community
solidarity.
dropping
who maintained
gear-type
amounted
systematic
of reset-
name. A specific example was pro-
heard the widespread
efforts
to divide and destroy communities.
The down-loading
responsibilities
to the municipal
was also frequently
cited as part of the hidden
concern
that TAGS payments
in central and western
of level
agenda to
that Canadians
that TAGS is an attempt
the impacts of a situation mismanagement
should be grateful. We
fear expressed
not fully understand
the UI pro-
of deliberate
from the provincial
There was considerable
lence for which Atlantic Canadians
of people from the TAGS program
gram are seen as just a few examples
or restitution?
charity
Canada as a form of charity, a gesture of kindly benevoand
More generally, the
through
TAGS:
might be viewed by taxpayers
regulations
to foster disputes
and the attack on seasonal employees
(i)
may
to cushion
caused, first and foremost,
by the federal government,
by
and that the
primary liability for the massive expense rests with the managers. program
TAGS, then, is and must be understood of restitution
as a
and compensation.
shut down more remote communities. Much was said about “the system.” Some people expressed
the view that politicians
groups and big corporations. an industry
representative
by lobby
At our St. John’s meeting,
(ii)
TAGS complacency
The financial aid provided
from one of the largest corpo-
is a vital support
to displaced
for thousands
families. Nevertheless,
should be concentrated
again that, whatever
the intentions
has the unfortunate
effect of fostering
on a small core of full time fish-
point was distinctly
of $30,000 annually. This view-
at odds with what we heard through-
out the small communities. corporation’s
future designed
most part, residents
expectations.
of small communities
clout of organizations
certainty
view them-
appears that government organization
representing
representing
that when TAGS compensation
will be some other program
with the
conviction
that there
will be a “TAGS 2” or some other program
to tide them
little need to make any major commitments planning
fishers. There is a widespread and others within commu-
nities that fishers are excluded from decision-making,
runs out there
over until they can go back to fishing. Therefore
fishers. It
as
the union is seen as their only voice.
of
is their alleged
to replace it. They are delud-
ed, we were told, by the stubborn
prefers to deal with only one
feeling among union members
the magnitude
the crisis facing them. Even more worrying
selves as little people who don’t have a say.
lobbying
TAGS
complacency
are simply in denial; as long as they can cash their TAGS
For the
On the other hand, there was also dissatisfaction
of the program,
cheque, they do not fully acknowledge
had been made and the fishery of the to meet industry
and their
we heard it said over and over
among many people. We often heard that many people
Yet, because it was a large
vision of the future, many felt that “the fix
was in,” decisions
fisheries workers
of individuals
rations put forward the view that the fishery of the future ers, earning a minimum
14
are controlled
they see
towards
for their futures.
A slightly different
form of complacency
was also identi-
fied, which could be called TAGS and “the sedative effect”. The TAGS program
has tended to pre-empt
dis-
cussion about what caused the collapse in the first place, diverting
people from fully acknowledging
3. THE A~LAN~~~ GROLJN STIRATEGY (TAGS)
of the catastrophe.
The communities
fishery -
deterrent
we visited were chosen on the basis of
Fear of losing TAGS is an effective
to public displays of outrage over the loss of the and to demands
that those responsible
the severe impact of the Atlantic fisheries collapse on
held to account.
them. It was no surprise,
told us, “and we haven’t had the opportunity
its support enormously
program
therefore,
for displaced
important
to find that TAGS and fisheries workers was an
issue in all the communities
visited. There were three particular
concerns
we
“We were given a cushion,”
hand evidence their conviction
Communities
to mourn
a
death.”
of the “TAGS complacency”
Rather, the people who attended
Coastal
must be
one person
It should be noted that we did not see a great deal of first-
that we
heard with respect to TAGS.
Sustainable
the magnitude
and
Marine
Ecosystems
that this complacency
in
syndrome.
our meetings
Newfoundland
expressed
runs rampant
and
Labrador
through
The point was strongly raised
the critical mass of outraged
we visited, even to the point
together
their communities.
in most of the communities
of saying that TAGS is currently effective planning
the major disincentive
and action for long-term
of Newfoundland’s the residents accepting remote
TAGS
causing
divisiveness
within
willing to join
gram, we were told, is to whittle away by degrees the spirit
to
community
sustainability.
(iii)
individuals
and take decisive action. The intent of the profishing-based
communities,
more pliable and resigned
whatever
fate is decided
leaving
to placidly
on their behalf by
decision-makers.
com-
munities We heard two ways in which TAGS is putting communities
by undermining
their traditional
tive spirit. The first way is through between
4. CQMMUNlTY DEVELOPMENT
a strain on co-opera-
a perceived
inequity
those who receive TAGS compensation
Our first community
and those
ECQNOMlC
visits took place very shortly after
the public release of “Community
who do not. There were several ways in which injustices
report of the federal-provincial
raised concern
Community
for people: some were disqualified
TAGS for what appeared ria or through unfairness
to be arbitrary
happenstance;
of situations
pool TAGS payments out of proportion
from
and shifting crite-
some pointed
to provide
meetings
could
the Task Force undertook
the communities
in the fishery and to
upon the report for their com-
munity.
resentment
at the fact that TAGS recipients
al to form economic
leisure and recreational
any obligation munity
time without
to use that time to contribute
feeling
to the com-
way that TAGS was
to community
divisiveness.
We
were told that people “on TAGS” are less likely to give full voice to their bitterness
or to organize
amongst
was, of course, focussed
on the propos-
zones in the province,
and especially
the economic-development found ourselves
more insidious
alleged to be contributing
Attention
on the makeup of the zonal boards that will administer
or to their own futures.
There was another,
in the early summer
that we visited, leaders from
had read and reflected
norms; and some w,orking people expressed
tremendous
series of public
and were eager to discuss its implications
community
were afforded
This report had
after the extensive
of 1994. In every community
a family income that was
to their earnings
the major
Task Force on
Development.
been eagerly anticipated
out the
in which family members
Economic
Matters”,
them-
funding
in the interesting
position
community
reaction
the months
when initial organization
of observing
as the report first came out and in of boards was taking
place. The Task Force on Community
Economic
Development
selves. This means that when people come “off TAGS”
was established
in order to address the future directions
and find themselves
local economic
development
in desperate
straits, they are less likely
to be actively and vocally supported still benefiting
from the program.
by people who are In communities
and effective approach the province’s
and where people’s TAGS eligibility periods
Task Force recommended
covered a
proposed
broad range, we heard that TAGS is dividing communities
increased
by undermining
boards to co-ordinate
of people finding common
cause in their plight. People whose TAGS eligibility is currently expiring will not be strongly supported
by those
regarding
economic
Its mandate
in each of
zones. The I2-member
that the 18 zones (subsequently
to 19) establish
regional economic
development
all social and economic
relating to regional economic
development
and that existing federal and provincial
initiatives
in the zone,
business
support
still on TAGS, and when they “come off’ TAGS in 1996
agencies should work with the zonal boards to harmonize
or 1997 they will in turn get little support
their support.
from those who
are “good” until I998 or 1999. People had a diversity of views about the changes taking Several people outlined Machiavellian
form of social control;
“buy” the complacency staggering
the view that TAGS is a
of potential
Sustainable
that TAGS serves to activists, and that by
the eligibility periods the program
to ensure that in these communities
Coastal
Communities
place. Before outlining
is designed
there will never be
and
Marine
expressed
several concerns
that were
about the process, it must be emphasized
the overall context in which these concerns expressed
was one of interest
ples espoused
Ecosystems
in
and support
that
were for the princi-
in the report. People take the report very
Newfoundland
and
of
a more efficient
to regional development
people had been involved in a variety of fishing activities,
the possibility
in the province.
was to make recommendations
where
15
for each zone. We
Labrador
seriously indeed,
and want to be involved
If there is a broad generalization
will have the last door closed on their hopes of economic
that can be made about
the views we heard about the report, were very enthusiastic
plants will never reopen and which small communities
in the process.
it is this: people
renewal. Wherever
we spoke to them shortly after release of the report, later on, as community
provisional
heard some doubts and concerns, who recognized
how fractious
Some people expressed provincial provide
opportunities
Economic
zone boards, we
mostly from people
then, is that politicians
decisions
that are politically
members
-volunteers
all -
chaos: mass resignations
for regional and local organizations
of boards,
role in the economic
develop-
and divisiveness
within and between
or regions. Although
the
the besmirching
of the reputations
it is still promoting
approach
economic
not a widely held viewpoint.
One substantive
we heard was that with so much
emphasis
on regional planning
5. YOUTH:
will in most cases be dominated
tives from the larger communities boards, it is feared, will become their decision struggling
making, with individual
to maximize
own communities.
table will be ruthlessly opportunities
benefits
In the negotiations
the smaller communities
referred
we probed
to a “lost” generation
at the
opportunities
elsewhere.
Although
always left rural Newfoundland
a rather sinister
opportunities
always had the option
our resources,
family and by a community
squandering
that once pro-
province,
opportunities
dire straits it has ever seen, the centralized
governments
be nothing,
resulting
mess to local volunteers!
is simply unwilling decisions
for managing Government,
the
bility by creating another
layer of government
back by
that they “belong story. When a it is, everyThere will
people fear, to attract these people back
it is felt, The other type of loss has to do with the teenagers young adults who do remain,
its responsito bear the
brunt of the abuse, scorn and outrage that is sure to come.
This is the generation
and
or who have not yet left.
of young people on the threshold
their own independence,
their own, who now find that they have few options
to make are those that will directly result in the
choose from. Many older people were both outraged
deaths of communities
Sustainable
-
decisions
Coastal
ashamed
such as which fish
Communities
and
Marine
of
ready to embark on a life path of
that people in St. John’s and Ottawa are
The decisions unwilling
structure
home.
to make some of the brutally tough
that must be made, and is dodging
they
to return and be welcomed
a final break with the community.
one assumes,
the responsibility
to obtain
or man leaves the community,
in the most
out
of employment
young woman
and leaving rural Newfoundland
are now off-loading
communities
to.” These days, we heard, it’s a different
in the
numbers
searching
or simply to expand their horizons,
shell, the view is this: after mismanaging
to people in every community
In the first case,
young people have
to take advantage
picture of the move to establish zonal boards. In a nutthe economic
of youth, and when
a bit to find out what she meant we learned
higher education,
vided livelihoods
and young adults
they face. One
of young people leaving their communities,
from the economic
that painted
teenagers
and the troubles
we heard about the dismay at seeing increasing
to reach decisions,
that the boards set in place.
We heard several opinions
had to do with their
that the term had two distinct meanings.
to their
that are not represented excluded
woman
in
board members
the economic
community
and moving fears expressed
our meetings
about the children,
of the community,
in the zone. These politicized
by people who attended concerns
by representa-
intensely
and
THE I. ST GENERATION
Some of the most immediate
it is the small communi-
ties that will lose out in the process. A zonal board, it was reasoned,
communities,
and good will earned
develop-
ment. This was, however, concern
will be
bitterness
leaders.
basically a paternalistic,
to community
increasing
over the years by the best and brightest
about community
from
are being set up as scape-
goats to take a big fall. The result, some predicted,
are not sincere in their efforts to
ment of their communities
involvement,
con-
suicidal. The zonal board
to have a more meaningful
top-down
and
have cynically and calculatingly
spired to use the zonal boards to distance themselves
regional politics can be.
report uses all the right rhetoric
16
Development,
senior bureaucrats
the view that the federal and
governments
that
will have to be made sooner or later.
The bitter view of the Task Force on Community
leaders started to get involved in the
political process of forming
we went people acknowledged
these tough decisions
about the Task Force’s work when
to and
that this is the only meagre, bitter fruit they can
Ecosystems
in
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
offer to their own children. Scie public meeting lot happier younger
As one elderly man at our La
quite movingly
expressed,
if I could do something
for the children,
people. I got a grandson
out working
It should be pointed
“I’d die a the
of their futures as were
the older adults. The youths who came to our meetings
away. I’d
may not have been broadly representative
love to bring him home to work here. I want to see him make a man of himself. But I’m so worried
out that the youths we talked to were
in general not quite as despairing
tion, but they manifested
about all the
to the major questions
young people driven off the island.”
of their genera-
an earnest desire to find answers facing them, as well as the intelli-
gence, passion and commitment
to overcome
despair and
apathy. In the “lost” aimlessness
of the young people in the school
yards, outside the convenience
stores and at the inactive
wharves, people saw the grim reflection failure to keep future horizons concerned
about increases
Particularly
of our collective
Harbour
open. People were deeply
in vandalism,
problems
the Renews meeting
that
explained
was the youth group in Petty
in order to be fully involved in the community that the moratorium’s
that
social and economic
people has not been recognized.
the main reason he had come was to talk about his grave
the past, even as pre-teens,
concern
pocket money
since a recent act of property
local school. Many in communities life lessons young children parents
idle, receiving
destruction
at the
were troubled
are learning
by the
uncertainty
at the Bay de Verde meeting
told of her shock that attendance dropped
tongues.
a cheque every two weeks, with the
One young schoolteacher
hanging
over them.
in her elementary
off every second Wednesday.
She thought
They
economic
oppor-
class
the seasonal work
other
that tilled their summer
17
hours.
upon receiving TAGS cheques whole families headed for
Finding alternative employment
mall in the nearest large centre, taking the
out of school to do so. In fact, this was exactly
one expected
out that in
have lost that
the shopping
why classes shrank every second Wednesday
They pointed
they could earn their own
tunity and also
teachers were testing her naivete when they explained
children
blow to young
cutting out cod
from having their
weight of care of financial
round-
table effort. They drove home many valid points, notably
would appear minor in central Canada. In fact, an RCMP officer who attended
impressive
who had formed their own Youth Round Table
to save money for
and every
university
it.
was a
major concern,
as
was finding a seat On the other hand, we heard from many people that the only good thing about the moratorium ple were staying in school to graduate
at university.
is that young peo-
Given the choice,
from high school.
We heard of the lure in earlier years of dropping
all the young peo-
out of
ple we met said they would prefer to remain in their own
high school and landing a job in one of the more lucrative fisheries where one could immediately one’s high-school however,
earn more than
tutions,
frequently
complained
this was disputed
most thought
not.
that people on TAGS and colleges.
by people in educational
instiWe found many parallel situations
many young people still believe that they are
competing
Asked to guess if that would be possible,
teacher. Young people themselves,
were taking “their” places in universities Although
communities.
against TAGS recipients,
who are guaranteed
a
the various communities.
seat in courses. Given the scope of the crisis from a social,
ed faced a wide range of common
cultural and economic
and inadequate
bers of our Partnership
point of view, it surprised
to realize that no counselling
cific to the crisis was being provided
Sustainable
Coastal
mem-
Communities
spe-
in the school system.
and
Marine
infrastructure,
cerns about out-migration, to call attention
Ecosystems
in
problems
volunteer
-
facing
we visitdecaying
burnout,
con-
etc. We were asked, however,
to some particular
Newfoundland
in the challenges
All of the communities
and
localized challenges.
Labrador
The communities
in coastal Labrador
moth difficulties
face some mam-
no longer facing most Island communi-
ties. They are reliant on an expensive
transportation
line in order to meet their basic needs these times of severe budget restraints for granted.
Any additional
air transport
planning
only
be on top of this already considerable ty energies and resources.
must
fair to say that the concerns
it is probably
of coastal Labrador
type of special hardship
community:
was raised that “women’s in the province. discussion
of fisheries issues is focussed
sector with much less discussion amounts
emphasizing
the importance
been understood rendering
the many women
control
future based on greater
self-reliance
over their resources
Future sustainability
of public
maximize
on the harvesting
will also depend
This
sustainability
context.
indicators
that had underestimated
who do work in the harvest-
moratorium
lacking any
economic
indicators
the value of the fishery.
The pre-
statistic that the fishery represented
5.5% of GDP (1984 figure) was mentioned
invisible.
that
not those that
This point was raised in concerns
about the false news spread through by
on approaches
the benefit to local communities,
merely serve to inflate economic
firstly, by de-
work”; and secondly,
coupled with and the decisions
that affect their lives.
of what has traditionally
to be “women’s
ing sector as practically
to every
of processing.
to “double discrimination”:
made a con-
not to allow their town to die would be far
and community
increased
The concern
the vast majority
whose residents
theme of belief in a sustainable
issues” are not taken seriously
For instance,
that not all
would survive. But it was a strongly held
view that those communities
personal
was common
the obstacles faced by women.
communities
Nearly all of the views we heard fell within a general
commu-
nities are more acute and receive less attention. Another
of people at the com-
more likely to survive.
we visited in Newfoundland
(Ramea and Fogo) have similar concerns,
on greater empowerment
scious decision
the two “island-off-
was that
must start listen-
munity level. It was generally acknowledged
outlay of communi-
Although
communities
therefore,
from communities
ing. Over and over we heard that future sustainability depended
on
for much of the year.
for sustainability,
sentiment
if they are to have a future, government
can never be taken
of the year, leaving people dependent
even more expensive
The overwhelming
a service that in
Ferry service itself serves the community
seven months
an-island”
life-
only
a number
times. In real terms, that figure is wholly misleading; inference
from it was that Newfoundland
of the
had never relied
very much on the fishery, and should just shake off the dust from a dead fishery and move on. What is not The discussions
that took place tended -
notable exceptions
-
to be concerned
our conversations
to enthusiasm
always hovered
of the death of communities.
around
-
the grim subject
this possibility
number
suffering
lars in income
economic
supplements
al purse, and that hundreds
For the most part, the peo-
ple we talked to acknowledged
that 30,000 people were left unemployed
in the wake of the moratorium,
-
and optimism
in that statistic is that the fishery was extremely
labour-intensive,
with rather bleak
subjects. While people had a broad range of outlooks from anger and bitterness
reflected
with some
as a matter-
lifeblood,
the concern
the fate of ocean life.
was raised that there is a danger of spiralling
into a vortex
Similarly, it was expressed
challenges
All of the “doom and gloom” around the
facing Newfoundland
ties struggling
to become
and Labrador
sustainable
the moratorium.
since
a self-ful-
bleak news. One person likened the community’s
superior
storm:
Coastal
Communities
fishery during
the actual value of the fishery in
for one species. The Japanese are now willing prices for crab due to the collapse of
quality Alaskan crab. The Alaskan crab is expect-
ed to recover, at which point the current bonanza Newfoundland
“If we fall asleep, we’ll die.”
Sustainable
with disdain that some politi-
value, but that is
At the same time, it is not possible to simply tune out the to survive in a snow-
and
their
as a fluke in market
to pay premium
struggling
Indeed,
-
caught up in
I995 will exceed its pre-moratorium
conditions
situa-
from the feder-
of small communities
because of what is widely regarded
filling prophesy.
tion to that of someone
were required
cians were now talking about a “successful”
communi-
is dangerous,
gloom breeds on itself, and despair can become
that billions of dol-
culture, history and future -were
of-fact, and moved on from there. However, of negativity.
with many times that impacts,
Marine
Ecosystems
in the
crab fishery will likely be in jeopardy.
in
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
lapse is like salt in the wounds
Further more, despite the high dollar value of the crab
of those who first raised the
fishery, it has almost no impact on most local communi-
alarm that the cod was in trouble.
ties. It is an issue of real concern
an inquiry would at long last validate their concerns.
shipped
that crab for Japan is
out with virtually no local processing.
source of bitterness
that a handful
while the majority
province
profits
People are frustrated
sit idle. People
made the same point about Hibernia, go to a few people but the benefits
and ignored in the wake of the disaster.
of fishers and proces-
of their neighbours
with being told “this is not the time
to lay blame,” as though
where huge wages
demanding
of any opportunity
to discuss and debate the crisis, one
Fogo Island participant depends
is labour-intensive
and environmentally
appropriate
benefits retained
close to the community.
likened the experience
that
family member
with
case of a death when the body
on development
public accountability
for the collapse of the fishery were in bad taste. Deprived
are not seen by the
as a whole.
The future of communities
that But
just as they were ignored in the past, they feel powerless
It is also a
sors with crab licences are making astronomical
They feel confident
to losing a
at sea. In the “What’s
happening
doesn’t
make
putting
the crab
to the crab
is not found, the family cannot deal with the tragedy:
any sense.
They’re
“When you don’t find the Dealing
with
the
past
body, you always hope, you
During our visits to rural communities
don’t grieve. You always half
it became clear
creating
that the crisis created by the collapse of the fishery has not
expect him to open the door
been dealt with either by communities,
and walk back in, safe and
indeed, the nation.
the province
or,
nounced
but there appears to have been a pro-
effort to shut down any such discussion.
years into the moratorium,
Three
people still have not been con-
sulted as to why they think the fishery collapsed
according
has government resource
explained
a great deal of humour, ment has instituted.
nor
There was discussion,
about the “consultations”
range of stakeholders
was not included.
every-
great.
The
at are
speaking
only
statistics
the dollar
signs.”
at Forteau
public
meeting
“What sus“The last cod taken
out of the
Atlantic
“Fish!,”
will
register
positive
so too was the question the GDP.”
“What could make your comWe
on gear types where cod trap
munity
sustainable
future?” answered
fishers met in one room, having no contact with dragger that their own technology
to politicians,
look
Fisher
able?” were answered
Second, having
invited only fishers, they were then further segregated.
But
“What made it unsustain-
to
of reasons. First, because a wide
Not surprisingly,
they
tainable in the past?” and
govern-
the task for a number
crews in another.
for the
made your community
with
They were viewed as inadequate
heard of a recent meeting
Planning future
Just as the questions
to them why it believes the
was so mismanaged.
thing’s
THE FISHERY
and
under what criteria it should be allowed to reopen,
less employment.
sound.”
In fact, not only has there not been a
formal public forum to deal with the fisheries collapse and its aftermath,
out in sections,
in the
Fisher,
for the fishery. It was nearly universally
each group concluded
out some level of restored
was fine. There was no attempt
Pefty
Harbour
with hopes argued that with-
fishing activity, these commu-
nities will not have a future.
to bring these fishers into the same room or to achieve any consensus.
Nor were they allowed to discuss what had
But no one in our meetings returning
caused the collapse of the fishery.
held the hope of the fishery
to pre-moratorium
levels of employment.
do people believe the fishery should be managed Various theories
are floated in the media within the gen-
eral themes that “everyone’s bly never know.” outs, or worse.
to blame” and “we’ll proba-
These are viewed as unacceptable In fact, many community
residents
fishers believe it is perfectly possible to determine happened
and to use this information
our mistakes.
Sustainable
copand what
to avoid repeating
in the past. Echoing the conclusions
of the Honourable
John Fraser’s report on the status of the West Coast salmon, many in communities fishery had been managed warning
expressed
Communities
and
Marine
too close to the edge. The
future fishery there be more communication
Ecosystems
the view that the
signals were not heeded. They urged that in any
The refusal to look at what caused the col-
Coastal
Nor
as it was
in
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
between
sci-
to
en&s
and fishers. Over and over, we heard that for the
fishery to be sustainably greater community community Concern
managed
involvement,
management
including
was also expressed
that if communities over resource
decisions,
to implement
their local management
they
Canadians.
feel that no one speaks for To allow
(e.g., co-management,
makers was recommended.
was frequently
the different
dictions;
between
identified
eign overfishing. nations
The need to
government
overfishing
on
would also strengthen
diplomacy
to reduce for-
Canada is still seen by many fishing on the issue of foreign over-
of marine resources.
and their juris-
Overfishing
of particular
species
departments
that deal with various aspects of the fishery and the com-
As noted earlier, there was widespread
munity;
species are being over-exploited.
and within the community,
the discus-
taking place
waters. Placing a higher priority
as hypocritical
exploitation
by
(for example,
levels of government
the different
within Canadian
has dominated
from overfishing
Canada’s hand in international
coastal
break down the barriers that have existed in fisheries management
attention
action to curb domestic
round tables, etc.), more co-operation
between
Foreign overfishing
sion, diverting
not their union or their government. participation
overfishing
There is a need to address the issue of overfishing
decisions.
Many within the communities
among decision
ancaclian
succeed
and resources
zone management,
areas for government
calls for actual
will require the authority
meaningful
priority
action:
of their adjacent fishery.
in gaming greater control
them -
believes would constitute
there should be much
the involvement
of
concern
However,
that many
three in partic-
ular were raised so often that they merit special attention
all stakeholders).
in planning The call for involvement
of fishers also extended
the fishery of the future.
to com-
ments about those whose advice is heeded in issues sur-
20
rounding
for the destruction
making decisions
of the resource
are still
vide all fishers the opportunity
ment and management given an opportunity
for meaningful
order for there to be successful developed.
in regulatory,
issues. The community
knowledge,
First, that it is an inherently
ers; for stock assessment
be managed
and for an assessment
the most suitable harvesting
for a sustainable
be conducted
in consultation
do not believe that the stock is the current
approved
level of
harvest.
of gear
fishery. This assessment
involved in any experiments
sustainably
strong enough to withstand
of fish-
technologies
to determine
roe.)
Third, even those who believe that the capelin fishery can
in inshore
waters as well as offshore;
should
with fishers, who should be involving
the modification
of fishing gear and/or testing programs. There were many very specific suggestions
relating to the
fishery and future sustainability.
Those reported
had a high degree of community
support,
the basis of recommendations
Sustainable
below
and some form
that the Partnership
Coastal
Communities
any
dead. (A similar con-
cern was raised about the fishery for lumpfish
informa-
ecological knowledge
surveys conducted
wasteful fishery because
male capelin caught to be discarded,
In
of scientific
a level of trust needs to be
tion, but also the traditional
fishery due to
the major market is for capelin roe in Japan, requiring
must be
not only scientific
fell into three categories. unsustainable
Second, that it is an unacceptably
Many stressed the need for a stock assessment
model that takes into account
about the
the critical role played by capelin in the food chain.
adjust-
involvement.
integration
visited we heard concerns
capelin fishery. The concerns to pro-
to have input into plan-
ning for the fishery of the future -
and traditional
In every community
about the fishery of the future.
People believe that a process must be established
methods
Capeiin
the fishery. It is felt that the same “experts�
responsible
and
Marine
Ecosystems
in
Kewfoundland
and
Labrador
In Renews we were told that hundreds those dependent
of people, even
on capelin, had signed petitions
required
urging
that there be no capelin quotas. In Petty Harbour,
to catch tiny shrimp,
huge. It is estimated
we
restaurant,
the rates of by-catch
that every time a shrimp is sold in a
up to 10 times that quantity
learned that the Co-op fish plant had decided in 1993 to
been killed and thrown
remain closed for the year rather than accept capelin for
the Nordmore
processing.
fish) is used, the rates of by-catch
The following
year, 1994, they were told that if
gate (designed
large. Many were particularly
losing their processing
by-catch
licence. Against their better judge-
opened.
they
may be unacceptably
concerned
about the rate of
in baby cod, turbot and halibut. In fact, scientific
and Labrador
in Newfoundland
waters is lacking. Additionally,
none of the capelin landed were large enough to be legally
appears to be inconsistent
processed.
regulations.
In fact in that year, out of a total quota of
Even where
to allow the escape of small
data on the extent and type of by-catch
But after 48 hours, the fishery was shut down as
of other fish have
into the ocean dead.
they did not open to process capelin, they ran the risk of
ment, as they believe the stocks to be endangered,
are
enforcement
there
of by-catch
47,000 M/T, only 1,700 M/T were legally landed throughout Newfoundland’s
With the cod showing limited signs of recovery, people in
waters due to the small size of the
fishing communities
fish caught.
want to know that everything
possi-
ble is being done to give the cod a chance to recover. But Many feel the resource
is in trouble.
Over the last few
years the capelin have been smaller, spawning shore behaviour
between
is later, off-
of the stock appears to have changed
in many areas, capelin are far fewer in number.
overfishing
the cod’s major food sources and
allowing cod in the by-catch
and,
But still
not to mention
predation
of other commercial
species,
by seals, they do not believe this
to be the case.
there is a capelin fishery in 1995. Capelin is a key component of the food chain for more than the cod. As an Inuit fisher pointed
out to us in Makkovik,
base of the diet of everything Inuit observers
up to and including
are wondering
the dropping
is likely related to declining
which the birds depend
whales.
The concern
if smaller whale size is due
to the scarcity of capelin. Certainly, ofseabirds
Turbot
the capelin is the
number
extinction.
capelin stocks on
for their primary
for turbot stocks is straightforward:
food source. In
As noted earlier, there was widespread
and enthusiasm
for minister
Estai. However,
even in the same breath as people
a major seabird colony at Witless Bay, for example, the
expressed
their support
black-legged
expressed
scepticism
kittiwake population
year. Herring
gulls are declining,
plummeted
by 90% last
and ocean-going
shear-
found conservation
waters appear to be absent in some areas. The vast majority
of people attending
that the cod fishery will never recover without capelin stocks. The role of capelin in supporting ecosystem
was mentioned
less frequently
for the seizure, they also
Moreover,
healthy the whole
domestic
of Canada’s new-
ethic. Juvenile turbot is caught by fleets. Most believe there
should have been no negotiated
felt
quota with the Spanish.
they do not believe there should have been any turbot fishery either.
but is certainly a
cause for concern.
From the observations shrimp
of many fishers, in northern
is just as important
capelin is in southern
has a value of approximately any processing
shrimp fishery
$300 million/year,
in Newfoundland.
Sustainable
Coastal
TURBOT
fishery that has
ever taken place in the ocean. Recent worldwide that dubious position.
without
Many in communities
believe that shrimp is the most destructive
confirm
waters
a part of the food chain as
waters. The current
studies
Due to the small mesh size
Communities
and
Marine
Ecosystems
in
pride
Tobin’s actions in seizing the
about the strength
both foreign and domestic
our meetings
most
people believe that it will soon be in a state of commercial
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
21
On the other hand, many fishers argued that gillnets, In discussing
what would make their communities
tainable again, the subject of appropriate gy was universally
ment about the two ends of the spectrum: tional hook-and-line producing
virtually every-
believed that the tradi-
fishery was totally sustainable
In between,
role in the destruction
appropriate
“ghost nets,” they are a perfectly
technology.
People also expressed
of the fishery.
Suffice it to say that views on gillof community
concern
about Japanese cod traps
being too large and creating unsustainable trap is essentially
the same degree of unanimity.
of netting.
fishing.
A cod
a room with four walls and a floor made
It is typically set in inshore waters of up to 36
metres deep, kept upright with floats and held down with
draggers have achieved nearly mythological
dimensions
of years, and
views on draggers.
there were strong views about other technolo-
gies, without
nets are left to become
nets are a long way from the unanimity
while
nearly everyone believed that draggers
played the primary
are highly selective with very little
They have been used for thousands
as long as fishers are careful to ensure that none of their
agree-
the highest quality catch. At the other end of
the spectrum,
Modern
by-catch.
use of technolo-
raised. There was widespread
one who spoke out in meetings
when used properly,
sus-
in the public psyche. Their sheer size (they are
weights set along the bottom.
The Japanese variation
added a roof and a porch and was more complex
able to lower nets large enough to scoop up twenty 747s nets held open with ton
design.
in
Prior to 1991, it was possible to achieve daily
catches of up to 10 M/T in one cod trap.
and a half steel doors) and the ability to zero in on vast schools of fish with high-tech
We heard in some communities,
along the ocean floor,
where, that Canada should have control
suggests that they have
shelf and of foreign fishing that would impact on this
dwarfed the marine
area. Clearly, there was a great deal of concern
ecosystem
Nose and Tail of the Grand Banks.
and even a
resource
as seemingly
northern
TRAP
A related concern
as the
cod. Many
vants preoccupied
technology
ping overfishing
Others feel that
environmental
concerns
lose out when other markets and trade
fisheay
everyone in small communities
monofila-
nets were introduced
agement
expressed
fishery thanks
The primary
should be conservation
goal of resource
described
like a fence. With mechanized
industry,
community
and other stakeholders
override
conservation
concerns.
as many as 400
gillnets can be set from the same boat. They have the of being able to conform
to the contours
of any
Many were worried
that
Coastal
Communities
the fishing industry,
particularly
eries have traditionally focussing
“ghost nets” could still be fishing during the moratorium.
Sustainable
as erring on the side of caution.
This was
The interests
of
should never
Some people involved from the processing
in side,
argued that there should be a change in the way the fish-
enable fishing in areas inappro-
priate for cod traps or draggers.
the man-
of the resource.
to a 50% federal subsidy. Gillnets sit along the ocean floor
ocean floor and therefore
as the rea-
view that if there is to be a fishery in the future, it must be conservation-based.
advantage
agendas. in stop-
are linked. This was often identified
ments. In the late 1960s and early 197Os, 280,000 such
equipment,
civil ser-
son Canada gave any further turbot quota to the Spanish.
Virtually
about gillnets, par-
to the Newfoundland
foreign overfishing by Canadian
that Canada’s interests
Conrservation-based
ticularly those made of non-biodegradable
about the
and the
ocean bottom. expressed
of the continental
assessment
the impact on the fishery resource
As well, there was concern
not every-
with other-than-conservation
The view was expressed
banned.
until there is a proper
to determine
compromised
people feel that dragger should be
although
was that combatting
has been traditionally
it should at least be suspended
overfishing
and radar, scraping
inexhaustible
COD
Foreign
sonar
and
Marine
been pursued.
on sheer quantity,
Ecosystems
in
Rather than
as the Newfoundland
Newfoundland
and
cod
Labrador
hope that the plant in their community will reopen,
and they will not
explore other options. On the other hand, we heard from many, primarily
owners of fish plants,
that government
should intervene
little as possible. The decision which plant reopens
as
as to
and survives
should be made by the marketplace. Many argued persuasively number
that the
of fish plants did not play a
role in the collapse of the fishery, as the pressure
on the ecosystem
from harvesting,
was
not processing.
plant owners felt government
Fish
should
license them in the future to process more than one species. They argued that if the community its resources
could manage
through
rights of adja-
cency, then it only made sense that a local fish plant should be able to process a multiplicity
of locally caught
species. TRAWL There was also a great deal of concern fishery had in the past, it should be more quality-conscious, implementing
harvesting
that stress the importance of raw material,
and processing
is through
management
failure. They urged that fisheries management of predator-prey
essence ecosystem
between
management.
an ecosystem
we can and should manage human
beeisions
interventions
many
Conservation
into nat-
and
heard that people would like government
will be allowed to reopen or not. They acknowledge
But as long as there is no decision,
unpopular
Coastal
that
decisions.
people will cling to the
Communities
and
society has to recognize
inability to control greed. People in communities
wondered
if we, as a society, are capable of controlling
our
obsession
with short-term
fish
profits
-
to stop hunting
that allows us to catch the last fish. It
we might need to abandon
and instead get into farming
the wild fishery
or sea ranching.
fishing with passive gear, a sustainable maintained.
Many urged that to accomplish
Marine
Ecosystems
in
children
Newfoundland
and
this there education,
to active fishers.
and
Many more
practices
fishery could be
needs to be a strong effort at conservation from the youngest
Sustainable
education
people believe that with good stewardship
the fish plant in their community
these are difficult and politically
stewardship
We often heard that somehow
was suggested
to tell them whether
and
with a technology
Processing
We frequently
resources.
human
Harvesting
crab fishery. In general, in all fish-
need to be taken for fair sharing of
but, that
the damage we do.
on
As noted above, the price
in
More accurately,
believe that we cannot “manage� ural systems to minimize
-
among
the roof now, but only a very few can benefit
eries, measures
should
distribution
acute as it related to the
fisheries.
from the supplemental
was a
environmen-
relationships
This was particularly
lucrative invertebrate
rather than volume alone.
have some sense of the interactions
Licensing
harvesters.
of quality and better utilization
Many also argued that single-species
tal conditions,
about the fairness of the resource’s
practices
Labrador
23
Fishery
Not surprisingly,
the topic of the increasing
tion was raised nearly everywhere.
seal popula-
The infrastructure
Many felt that the seal
issue wasbeing
used as a scapegoat
and politicians.
It is notable that no one in small commu-
decaying.
by major industries
for a small-scale
fishery is already
In order to keep options
ery-related
employment,
other elements
open for future fish-
many urged that wharves and
of the infrastructure
should be main-
nities put forward the view that the seals had caused the
tained.
collapse of the cod stocks. On the other hand, now that
wharves could also attract tourist potential
the cod is hanging
and ecotourism
on the brink of extinction,
believe that factors that would not ordinarily concern,
such as seal predation,
many
in cruise ships
activities such as whale watching.
Edorcemealt
seal fishery was a significant contributing
of communities.
history, Many
received training
at government
She opened
seal-fur clothing
a business
her product
to abandon
the entire enterprise
on this particular symptomatic
never be overcome for seal products.
to allow the development However,
government’s
Oceans Day session, there was representatives
for the
Fishers Co-op in the face of The
oppor-
Government
inaction
to many to be
of an agenda more concerned
a strong community
can
meeting.
local issue appeared
with eroding
voice than with conservation
and law
enforcement.
of a market
many were encouraged
efforts in research
a change in
officials have to do their
from community
nearly violent community
She had
tunity but they fear the negative image internationally
leaders
evening before Oceans Day there had been a divisive and
for lack of markets. an economic
Community
DFO refusal to enforce their own regulations.
that no one would
Many people feel that seals represent
by the
and develop-
ment in this area.
.:
‘, .’
Sustainable
Coastal
Communities
on
it was stressed
and aggressive in enforcing
plight of the Petty Harbour
show in
meetings,
and assist in fostering
Government
At the wrap-up
strong support
making high-quality
public opinion.
needs to be involved.
share by being consistent
expense in tanning
but explained
that everyone
regulations.
with high hopes. She related that other furriers
buy seal fur due to anti-seal-hunt
At our community
have to participate
in La Scie who had
and headed to a fur-trade
need to work with communities
enforcement.
social attitudes.
in order to create markets for seal prod-
ucts. We heard from one woman
Montreal
DFO and the province
The
believe it is time to take on international
public opinion
processes.
resource.
part of the province’s
to the sustainability
in communities
provincial
some felt that well-maintained
might push the cod over
In the past, seals were seen as an abundant
admired
Moreover,
be a cause of
the edge.
24
infrastructure
and
Marine
Ecosystems
in
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY LIFE BEYOND THE FISHERY Our discussions
in communities
fishery, although
There was virtual unanimity
as previous
of future sustainability
ranged far beyond the
training
and community
Regardless
of the topic, there was a constant
We cannot overemphasize
their opinions overriding
the extent to
to their needs, disdainful
and blind to community
Partnership
We heard repeatedly vocational
of
to potential
“GOVERN-
disturbed
provided.
nities’ opinions Further,
of such importance
knowledge
of the communities
The following themes,
is being identified,
by people far removed
sections attempt
a garden
and
have
a few
goats.
We worked
harder,
employment.
but we
had
food
on our
and
clothes
on our
if there is no
market. We also heard from
backs...”
ing with others in overcrowded fields, such as nursing assistants,
and
carpenters
‘1 used
involved.
Many aspects of education and training
common
three
cows
in the
morning
before
If we are
going
going
to school.
to stay in
merit reference
as they emerged
many of which form the basis for community
to milk
and
electricians.
from and with minimal
to highlight
keep
trained workers were compet-
were
The commu-
designed
to
many people that TAGS-
on ways to diversify are being ignored.
the training
delivered
into the
were very
again being made outside the communities.
and to attempt
should be
table
Some communities
to learn that decisions
with community
and linked
100 hairdressers
There should be more input from the community
a
urged
There is no point in training
MENT MUST LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE!”
type of training
educators
“We used to
that
on local needs
and opportunities
was that our
should bring this point home:
training
more focussed
values. The single
message from every community
Community
remove any stigma.
and leaders believe that gov-
is totally insensitive
to upgrade
levels. We heard that there is currently
input in order to make them acceptable
refrain that
in taking
where it does exist. Every
that they should be designed/adapted
of programs.
ernment
Many
were more readily avail-
should be given for individuals
their educational
empowerment.
must be involved in the design and delivery
members
of the opportunity
stigma to these programs.
communities
which community
the basics for future sustainability.
advantage
diversification,
education,
providing
opportunity
us away from the fishery
to issues of values and ethics, economic
had real value,
able, and that there were more people interested
sections suggest, the question
brought
offered, adult basic education
wished that adult basic education
the fishery was never far from centre
stage. However,
on the point that, of all the
programs
frequently
in
Newfoundland,
I think
we’ll
hove
our sessions:
recommendations.
to get back
to work....
Have
a
Education for capacity buildEducation
and
ing -
Training
determine
capacity building In our meetings, training
many different
aspects of education
were raised. We heard recommendations
civil servants needed to be educated the fishery, that children traditional
needed to be educated
inappropriate
their education
There were many complaints
training, cynicism
sprung up of training money. Fundamentally,
primarily
vocational.
provide it. In particular,
the
wished to sup-
port leadership
Coastal
Communities
-
in the community
that the as an end in
care
a few
hens
and
lic
from
of ourselves...”
the
Burnt
islands
meeting
The level of division with-
introduction Program
Marine
has grown considerably
of Northern
Cod Adjustment
Ecosystems
in
since the Recovery
(NCARP) and TAGS. This was expressed
most of, if not all, the communities it has occurred
job.
and
take
and
Conflict-resolution education
in
we visited. Many feel
because of the design of the programs.
Conflict-resolution
Sustainable
cows
Views
training;
There was
there was recognition
itself, not merely as a ticket to a particular
and
that has
all run on TAGS
culture needed to change to value education
involve-
ment of the community communities
few
funds
about
about the new industry institutions,
about the
and that TAGS recip-
ients should be allowed to reallocate
widespread
to permit meaningful
that
about the reality of
culture of their province,
to their children.
and
what is required
courses should be included
Newfoundland
and
LabradoI
in any
pub-
25
training
courses offered. Consideration
should be given to
making these courses available to the community
at large
in order to have a positive impact; Counselling
-
Counselling
where there is a need, i.e. family counselling, counselling,
counselling
etc. Support
groups should be encouraged;
operating
in areas
marriage
for youth, addictions,
The regular school system, primary,
current vation -
elementary,
should integrate
management,
as a barrier to new enterprises. for more practical
when implemented. required
and the
either in St. John’s or
is
policies are to work.
Young
between
our community
visits we noted a tension
those who could see a future based on dozens of
small-scale
enterprises
and those who focussed
single idea and dismissed
it as inadequate
has been lost. Those who dismissed
future fishery and expose people to the concepts
of sus-
put forward
ideas
to feel threatened
as an alternative
by
to the fishery. Only
when it was agreed that no one new economic
quality, mar-
on any
to replace what
diversification
were most often those who appeared anything
and to the ideas of conservation, production,
level
More input from the community
if government
Throughout
conser-
We should look towards the
value-added
applica-
Many examples
the issues
into their regular school curriculum.
tainable development
red tape
Ottawa that did not make sense at the community
sec-
fishing, processing,
Conservation education -
they should etc. Concern
about government
tion, with input from the community.
people need to know their history;
better utilization,
expressed
were given of policies designed
the history of the fishing industry
crisis -
is serious about diversification, money into R&D, marketing,
Policies should be designed
depression,
Integrating fishery awareness in education system -
surrounding
start putting was frequently
should be provided
ondary and post-secondary,
If government
venture
could replace the fishery was there consensus.
keting, etc; More strategic use of TAGS funds -
Beyond new economic Many felt that
TAGS has been a gold mine for many training
26
cussions also focussed
institutions
through
and that the quality of some of the courses offered leaves a lot to be desired;
opportunities,
reviving some sustainable
Many mentioned through
livestock and milk production.
of Newfoundland
be much more involved in community
used to
present
crisis. Education
professionals
talents, abilities and experience actual community
the research they do is grounded communities, resource
and is focussed
we are more dependent logical innovations
to be more directly
service as well as through
to small-scale
We are living in a different
in the
should use their
involved in the real issues facing communities
returning
vegetable gardening
and
On the other hand, no one
felt they could go all the way back to the way it used to be.
development
issues than it is now. It has shown little leadership
of the past. In
the need to “go back to the future”
Identify the responsibility of the intellectual communiUniversity
practices
dis-
self-reliant,
essence, many felt they had to learn to make do with less.
ties -
Memorial
diversification
on the need to become
-through ensuring
that
in the practical needs of
environment
today in which
on the cash economy
and techno-
than we were 20 or 30 years ago.
Certain economic
diversification
opportunities
raised everywhere,
and common
themes
reported
were
emerged
as
below in a sectoral fashion.
on Newfoundland’s
base. Tourism
ECONOMIC
QIV~~SIFICAT~O
Many believe that their community increased
All the communities
we visited felt there was the need to
diversify in the areas of tourism, culture, secondary
processing,
crafts, heritage carpentry jams and preserves.
seals, aquaculture, underutilized
Some communities,
and Forteau had gone through to identify their strengths many felt that government
Sustainable
agri-
tourism
such as
such as Ramea
impressive
can rely on tourism.
have natural advantages communities
Marine
that not
Some feel they
thwarted.
For example,
near Port aux Basques believe there should driving off the ferry
in their area. People near facilities operated
and
that it
about
upon which they should be able
be ways to keep some of the tourists
was less than fully supportive.
Communities
could benefit from
it was acknowledged
were quite realistic. It was recognized
every community
to capitalize, but are currently
local exercises
and plan for the future. But
Coastal
although
could never replace the fishery. Expectations
species, local
and local food products,
tourism,
Ecosystems
in
Newfoundland
by Parks
and
Labrador
Canada believe they should be able to attract visitors to the area to facilities beyond the park or historic such as local craft shops, restaurants are frustrated
by the apparent
intransigence
protected
opportunities.
in their area from more ecological
areas. Proposed
in their own people.
Frequently
barri-
mentioned
ers to developing
everything
from homemade
jams and
“UI killed
TAGS
of our
is killing
Comment
accessing capital and the
Baccalieu Island an ecological
half
people;
the other
half.”
to whale-watch
cruises were the difficulty in
specifically in Burnt Islands and in Bay de Verde, where reserve will enhance
people from away with tax
breaks, than investing
handcrafts
ecological sites were mentioned
people hope that declaring
in attracting
was
of Parks
area in working with
to develop the tourism
Others see potential
more interested
site -
or B and Bs. Many
Canada in the Lanse aux Meadows the community
people and their skills. It seemed that government
from
Forteau
public
meefing
extent of red tape and govern-
ecotourism.
ment regulation. The state of the province’s often mentioned
transportation
as a disincentive
our experience
as a Partnership
areas over excruciatingly
system was
to tourism.
Certainly,
travelling to beautiful
bad roads made us believers. The
high price of taking a car to the province
by ferry, the
READJUSTING INCOME SUPPORT TO ENHANCE SUSTAiNABILITY
poor state of roads once you arrive, and the erratic ferry
Those attending
service to areas such as Fogo, Ramea and Labrador
and keenly aware that budget constraints
seen as obstacles
to tourism
hand, people complained
development.
were
On the other
government
of money spent on roads no one
ployment
our sessions tended to be well informed
threaten schemes.
at all levels of
future income support
needs and few people want, such as the St. John’s Outer
given the role of the federal government
Ring Road, at the same time that roads to more remote
of the fishery, there should be compensation
areas are a sea of potholes.
of equity.
Groundfish
Many people in communities
expressed
three years into the moratorium,
frustration
the feasibility of aqua-
culture is still such a matter of speculation. that government out meaningful also complained
They believe
should take more initiative aquaculture
in carrying
efforts in the province.
that aquaculture
that
Many
efforts are being con-
trolled by only a select few. Others wondered
why, given
the state of the crisis, there was not more experimental work in allowing people to maintain
cod in homemade
ponds over winter, feeding them and enhancing
their
munities
as sole managers as a matter
27
In any event, as long as programs Aquaculture
and unem-
On the other hand, some argued that
such as the Atlantic
Strategy (TAGS) are available, many in com-
believe those financial resources
effectively deployed The current
to enhance
design of programs
real adjustment
could be more
long-term
sustainability.
is felt to interfere
and diversification.
paying people to stay home at levels exceeding ers in the community
receive for working
centive to change. At present,
what oth-
creates a disin-
many people on TAGS are
fearful that if they accept training
courses in areas outside
the fishery, they will not be entitled to return to the fishery should it recover. Government
should provide
growth. We heard from one woman who was successfully
ances that trainees on TAGS will not be prejudiced.
doing this on her own.
Government
has continuously
teria in the TAGS program, Small
and uncertainty
business
discussions
was that it
cases individuals
changed the rules and cri-
by government
There needs to
officials that in most
are not making decisions
just for them-
was not one big thing that would save a community.
selves, but for their families. Therefore,
Rather it would be many small efforts, largely individual
sider the impact on them. Many of the programs
entrepreneurs
establishing
do not take this into consideration
many barriers,
though,
small businesses.
ing, it was felt, government’s
Sustainable
Coastal
There were
to starting a business, lack of confidence
Communities
and
all reflectin local
Marine
assur-
creating an aura of mistrust
among TAGS recipients.
be an understanding
The thrust of most diversification
with
We often heard that
they have to conprovided
and serve as a deter-
rent. For example, the living away from home allowance creates undue hardships
Ecosystems
in
Newfoundland
in family situations
and
Labrador
by providing
an allowance
for the trainee but nothing,
allow a mother
Some people expressed training
for instance,
CONCLUSION
to
to bring children with her.
under the TAGS program
who are TAGS-eligible
Despite the enormous coastal communities
the view that the only compulsory
remains
should be for those
changes wrought
in the lives of
as a result of the moratorium,
a strong will to survive
-
not in Toronto,
even in St. John’s but in the communities
and under 25 years old. Many
there nor
in which people
TAGS recipients
felt they were too old to train. Even if
were born, where they own homes and have a sense of
they successfully
completed
themselves,
be able to compete
their training
Many of these people have children post-secondary
they would not
institutions.
who are just going to
even though,
and Labrador
peo-
believe in the future,
by turns, they are disheartened
and despair-
ing.
If they had the choice, they
would much rather have the educational
their culture and values. Fundamentally,
ple in Newfoundland
with young people in the job market.
dollars spent on As noted, there are many aspects to what can be done to
their children.
advance sustainability.
Many in communities
report on the views of communities,
also argued that TAGS funding
should be given to a community, als. This was a minority held view that community
we have built this
whose recommenda-
tions follow.
not merely to individu-
view, but it did reflect the widely co-operation
will be the foun-
dation of any future sustainability.
The divisiveness
engendered
earlier in this report, is
by TAGS, as discussed
a maior obstacle to communitv
Sustainable
As a Partnership,
solidaritv.
Coastal
Communities
and
Marine
Ecosystems
in
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMUNITIES
salmon, fisheries management tion. The resource
should be based on cau-
should not be managed
up to the limits
of what we believe is there. This recommendation Our Partnership of hundreds
had a rare opportunity
of residents
to hear the views
new -
of small coastal communities.
“Prudence
From these we distilled actions that we believe communities want to see undertaken government.
by key stakeholders,
We tested out these conclusions
pants at the Oceans Day wrap-up and had some additional of those communities
including
Conservation minister
session in St. John’s,
actions put forward.
dictates that the lowest estimate
be used to provide
with partici-
Council
of stock size
The Fisheries Resource
(FRCC) has recommended
to the
of Fisheries and Oceans that fish stocks be manand cautious basis.
On behalf It is long since time that this principle
that we heard, we offer the follow-
THEREFORE, ary principle
TO FUTURE
advice.”
aged on a conservative
ing recommendations.
PATHWAY
is not
the Harris review panel also urged in its report,
communities
would want the precaution-
to be applied at the highest order, and it
should not be compromised
SUSTAINABILIN
be put into effect.
for any other short-term
interest.
FISHERY-RELATED
PROPOSALS
2. issues
creating conditions quent sustainable
to allow the restoration,
with an abun-
Species
of the
precautionary
playing
a critical
role
in the
nearly unanimously
that there shall be no commercial principle,
accepted
at the Earth
at Rio, is that the absence of absolute scientific
proof should not be used as an excuse for inaction. closely parallels the following “Independent
the
needed
food
Cape/in
People in communities
principle
The precautionary
where
is urgently
chain a)
Summit
concern
principle
and subse-
harvest, of an ecosystem
dance of marine life.
1. Application
of immediate
precautionary
Actions relating to the fishery are made with the aim of
observation
This
Review of the State of the northern
capelin fishery. As an
aboriginal
community
member
pointed
Labrador,
the capelin is the base of the food chain for cod
and other fish, as well as seabirds
from the
-
cod
held the view
out in northern
(puffins and kittiwakes)
all the way to whale species, such as humpbacks
and
fins. Some argued that the ban on capelin should be put
Stock,” chaired by Dr. Leslie Harris and released more
into effect on the basis of the many changes that have
than two years before the Earth Summit
been observed
(February
1990):
indicators;
“This is not to say that in the absence of comprehensive
in the stock and conflicting
others believe that it is doubtful
ever be a commercial
knowledge the world must stand still. It does meun that
of small groundfish
when our knowledge is deficient we should proceed with extreme caution, and if error is inevitable, we should at least
in fmed gear, and waste due to dump-
ing by the mobile fleet.
attempt to ensure that our errors are on the right side of the
As members
capelin fishery is not sustainable prin-
ciple would dictate that when estimates
bio-
mass are based on limited, distorted and unproven anomalous
models, evidence
ecosystem
warnings
of spawning
and/or flawed data
of significant
should be heeded,
action taken to ensure that the stocks are protected.
of the Partnership,
and As
capelin stocks are a necessary
unusual
abundance
worrisome
THEREFORE, communities,
Coastal
Communities
and
Marine
that the first,
prerequisite
to a restored
Ecosystems
in
appears abnormal of younger
and there is an
spawners.
All of these are
signs in a critical stock.
Ambassador
Sustainable
on two ground:
cod fishery; second, because average size has been small,
was also found in the task force report headed by John Fraser in the case of the missing BC
we are persuaded
that capelin is the base of the food chain and healthy
offshore behaviour
and/or
there should
capelin fishery because of by-catch
ledger” (p. 45). When applied to the fishery, then, the precautionary
assessment
we believe that DFO owes these fishing and, indeed, the people of Canada, a full
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
29
explanation
for continuing
quotas for any commercial
capelin. We call on DFO to provide
for any quotas for capelin to an appropriate In the interim, com:munities
approach
its data and rationale
based on the precautionary would want a moratorium
public forum. principle,
to an ecosystem
The change is similar
by the Clayoquot
Sound scientific
panel in the context
of ancient temperate
rain forests,
wherein
on the capelin
approach.
to that recommended
the panel urged that logging decisions
fishery.
rather to the state of the ecosystem Decisions
on a multispecies, were also concerned
ery. It was raised particularly shrimp ecosystems
about the shrimp
in communities
found in northern
recent technological
innovations,
believed to be unacceptably
fish-
after logging.
close to
of regulations
DFO does not have good estimates
limiting
immediately
it.
the communities
ecosystem
approach
would want to see DFO
in science and management.
is lacking (for example,
Further,
redfish, sea urchins
and lumpfish).
the cod in northern
and further,
waters. They must be pro-
tected as part of the plan to rebuild fish stocks on which
management
communities
restoring
depend.
should have an emphasis
and sustaining
for what remains
30
approach
establish a clear plan to move toward an
sustainability
Shrimp, like capelin, are a critical part of the food chain,
THEREFORE,
limited. All
DFO should reassess quotas for species where evidence of
of the extent of by-
catch at present.
supporting
basis is presently
the greater the need for using the precautionary
THEREFORE,
rate is still
high and there is serious con-
cern about DFO enforcement
ecosystem
Ability to manage
and cautious management.
waters. Despite
the by-catch
but
should, in other words, focus on what is needed
to sustain the health of the ecosystem.
Communities
be made
not with an eye to which trees should be harvested,
communities
fishery subjected
would want the shrimp
principle,
marine ecosystem,
it should
on nurturing,
health -
i.e., manage
rather than what is taken. The goal
should be to rebuild, protect
to an urgent review to assess whether,
bearing in mind the precautionary
ecosystem
and preserve
a critical
not merely to maxim&e
profit on a species-by-species
short-term
basis.
continue. No harvest should be done of any species without analysis. Some formerly Species c)
subject
to intensive
overfishing
turbot,
Turbot
As reported
this document,
belief that the turbot is badly depleted.
further,
even
The concept
e)
we believe that the DFO should provide
its
for any quotas for turbot to an approbased on the precauwould want an end to
the communities
To the observant
communities
and in our ecosystem
that this imbalance
ference through
the turbot fishery, at least until there is a plan to rebuild
resources
levels.
for commercial
the ecosystem Other
that governments
DFO is managing
species by species. We believe that fish-
eries management
should shift from a single-species
Coastal
Communities
responsible
and
In many communities
for the harvesting
not only for their commercial restoration
Marine
of ecosystem
Ecosystems
intervene
must be encouraged
strategies
in
inter-
of our marine
gain. In this resulting
should further
imbalance.
is completely view in coastal
is due to human
careless exploitation
many believe humans
Sustainable
and false.
eye it is obvious that the marine life
out of balance. There is an overwhelming
tionary principle,
cl)
is dangerous
Seals
along our coastlines
priate public forum. In the interim,
stocks to historical
of underutilized
commer-
cial turbot harvest.
data and rationale
cod stocks and others, every other species is
were caught earlier, and,
argue that there should be no domestic
THEREFORE,
to collapse without
plan put in place. With the collapse of the
being targeted.
People are out-
raged that the foreign catch of turbot continues though TACS and allocations
northern
there is a strong
full
species, such as
are going from “underutilized”
a management throughout
“underutilized”
situation, to correct we heard
to implement of marine species,
value but to contribute
to
balance.
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
In recognizing
and accepting
that such imbalance
cur-
inquiry would serve a number
rently exists, we must take a hard look at the conse-
standpoint
quences of allowing the population
essary precondition
of prey species, such
the decimation
through
commercial
fisheries of a number
certainty
From the
communities
to effective planning
More fundamentally,
as harp seals, to increase while at the same time witnessing
of purposes.
of fishery-dependent
it is a nec-
for the future.
it should establish with the greatest
possible what mistakes were made so that they
of critical species at the base of the food chain (capelin,
can be avoided in any future Newfoundland
shrimp,
fishery as well as in other parts of Canada and the world.
herring,
THEREFORE, communities
etc.). governments
in Partnership
and the environmental
immediately
movement
the current
crisis in the seal population.
vesting and management
on
hilation
strategy.
Should the governments,
Canada)
commits
(signed and ratified by
Canada to an environmental
Canadian
Environmental
Assessment
cedures for full assessments, environmental economic
pro-
the cumulative
-that
domestic
overfishing,
efficient and destructive
rations and the offshore
a lack of
process,
technology
and a bias in decision making that favoured and more traditional
to accept
the collapse was
over the concerns
an (draggers),
large corpoof the inshore
gear types.
and cultural impacts. an environmental
assessment
of all gear technology,
mental assessment government
should be
should be conducted
The environ-
Assessment
involvement
reopened
in setting
terms
for
by the federal
There is tremendous dependent
Act, in order to ensure that
social and cultural impacts of the technologies
are taken
anxiety in small communities
communities
ery was over-harvested extension
that
of the past. Fishing-
are worried
that, just as the fish-
in the critical period after the
of the 200-mile limit following
over-exploita-
tion by foreign draggers in the late 1960s to 1970s politics
into account.
and large corporations Due to the overwhelming dragger technology, mental assessment,
concern
pending
about the impacts
completion
dragger technology.
Moreover,
Canada should urge cau-
the fishery
THEREFORE,
clear minimum
fishery should be established de-politicized
criteria for reopening
the
in a public, transparent
and
fashion.
role in the current
in the world’s major fisheries reported
by the UN Food and Agriculture
will dictate reopening
too quickly.
of the environ-
scene in the use of draggers
the world and their potential
state of overfishing
of
there should be a ban on the use of
tion on the international
Organization.
6. Community
involvement
One of the central tenets of sustainable
development
that
emerged
from the Brundtland
munities
should have greater access to and control over
The issue of the need to deal with the past before being
decisions
affecting their resources.
able to plan for the future was raised universally
small communities
4. Public
meetings.
a
fishery
we won’t learn from the mistakes
within the terms of the new Canadian
Environmental
5. Public
and this evaluation
should be done before the fishery reopens.
around
not
effects of any activity, as well as its social,
THEREFORE, conducted
including
in this report
about through
extremely
The new
Act establishes
to this
federal and provincial,
caution in setting quotas, a politicized
assess-
ment of any activity that impacts on biodiversity.
to contribute
this action, we invite the government
conclusions
Assessment
Convention
the causes of the anni-
cod stocks. Affected communities
process.
har-
brought The Biodiversity
to investigate
of the northern
undertake 3. Environmental
want a public inquiry, or
must be given an opportunity
Among topics to
for a marketing,
communities
Royal Commission,
must
enter into a process to develop consensus
be reviewed would be the potential
THEREFORE,
with industry,
and Labrador
inquiry
in our
We have come to agree that there must be
accountability
for the state of the resource.
Sustainable
Coastal
Communities
Such an
and
Marine
resources.
in
It recommended
that
should have a “decisive say” over their
Over and over again, we heard the same point
from small outport
Ecosystems
Report was that local com-
communities.
Newfoundland
and
Moreover,
Labrador
a strong
31
community
voice should help de-politicize
the decisions
Marine protected of mechanisms
made about resources.
areas should be achieved by a number such as National
Areas (Parks Canada), THERFFORE, decisions
local communities
that affect them, especially in decisions
to natural-resource community
management.
involvement
tive new arrangements agement
must be involved
in all
related
Aspects of meaningful
include the following:
Wilderness
to facilitate involvement,
co-man-
of traditional
ecological knowledge
into policy decisions.
As has already
conservation
the government
ment of Newfoundland
should be subject to
ward in the development for marine protected should honour
Historically,
communities
their proximity
The Harris review context it would seem
that first preference
should in all cases go to the communities the resource,
for access
32
to resources
to
instances
dependent
on
commitment
in fishery allocation
decisions,
should be honoured
go to those communities
protected
and consistently
with a historical
porting,
10.
It was argued that, as a contribution
we agree. Marine protected
species.
Research
counting
areas
fish, as though
they were inventory
use this to supplement
scientific
entists, and their respective
Spaces program, examples
of
THEREFORE, ecosystem
for seeding of fish stocks out-
area. People attending control
research.
knowledge,
the necessary
scientific
areas. Coastal management
then would utilize marine protected their conservation-based
Sustainable
management
Coastal
Furthermore,
Partnerships
resources
should be
of the marine
should be established
federal and provincial
fishers to develop appropriate scientific
Fishers and sci-
exist as solitudes.
and manage the fisheries from this perspective.
ported between
our meetings
is an essential part of
on gear types or areas in order to create
marine protected
on a shelf,
thing. There is a neglect
applied to develop an understanding
side the protected
on
season,
areas are not, then, simply exclusion
believe that community
in
in other specialized
representative
zones. They create potential
as practised
and too little on the myriad factors that make an ecosystem a vital, organic and changing
to
marine life. Marine protected
misre-
fishing with illegal gear types and catching pro-
and an absence of serious efforts to
ways. As part of Canada’s Endangered these sites would conserve
must be stringently
to avoid high-grading,
of fishers’ information
certain gear types or closed during spawning or managed
is critical.
the past. There is a sense that it focussed too narrowly
zones within
them, or they may be smaller areas that are restricted
Enforcement
fisheries regulations enforced
Any serious
fishery will flounder
Many found fault with fisheries research
to the conservation-
areas have a vital role to
may be large areas with smaller “no-harvest”
closed permanently,
a system of
of regulations.
to a conservation-based
THEREFORE,
the princi-
areas
based fishery, marine protected
restrictions
of non-enforcement
and first preference
hibited
play. As a Partnership,
to the Endangered
state of the fishery, we heard many
and fail with poor enforcement.
claim.
8. Marine
they
areas.
Despite the desperate
it.”
ple of adjacency
the Oceans
Further,
9. Enforcement
contiguous
whose survival is historically
THEREFORE,
through
had certain rights based on
to marine resources.
appropriate
of a full range of mechanisms
in terms of establishing
marine protected
panel noted, “In the Newfoundland altogether
should move for-
areas (including
their commitments
Spaces program of adjacency
such as the
of Canada and the govern-
and Labrador
Act) and their timely implementation.
considerations.
7. Rights
Oceans Act (DFO) or
legislative mechanisms
Areas and Ecological Reserves Act.
THEREFORE,
and the incorporation
involvement
provincial
Wildlife Areas (Canadian
innova-
of resources,
been noted, community
Wildlife Service), the proposed through
Marine Conservation
National
and traditional
databases
and sup-
governments
and
for integrating
knowledge.
regimes
areas as a part of regime.
Communities
and
Marine
Ecosystems
in
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
11.
Licensing
14.
There is a great deal of concern, the alleged unfairness
both in terms of harvesting tions are necessary
indeed bitterness,
of allocations
over
and processing.
entrepreneurs
In the course of our visits through
to the existing fishery,
13 communities
met many people with energy, enthusiasm Unfortunately,
Fair alloca-
to achieve conservation
Encouraging
goals and sus-
the obstacles to establishing
ness venture
we
and a dream. a new busi-
often seemed insurmountable.
tainable communities. THEREFORE, THEREFORE,
a process should be initiated
more fair and equitable
licensing
vesting and processing of the resource,
to ensure
decisions
assist in overcoming establishing
for both har-
with the goal of equitable
including
such measures
15.
obstacles,
new business
Resources
Although
communities
bind of a collapsed
THE FISHERY
Principles
ernments
of Sustainable
Development
economic
indicators,
tainability
of a community
meetings,
munities
traditional
in light of the crisis. We believe that these could be more effectively deployed
THEREFORE,
or the health and vitality of a
the following
principle
should be accepted
for development
as the
government
ty involvement
of sustainable
development
are labour-intensive,
should focus on approaches
environmentally
appropriate
close to the community.
13. Mechanisms
for
Department
There was widespread
concern
dealing
with
that
and
sustainability.
and in Partnership Resources,
and
in develop-
With full communiwith the federal those within the com-
16.
a crisis
communities
has not been dealt with. We were surprised
being experienced
to find that so little was available in counselling for local communities.
Other than vocational
in
services advice,
there has been little done to assist families in crisis, or youth.
THEREFORE,
involvement
should be provided
where there is a need, i.e. family counselling, counselling,
counselling
etc. Support
groups should also be encouraged.
in areas
marriage
for youth, addictions,
depression, Adequate
should be made available to address the social brought
about through
the upheavals
of fishery-dependent
Coastal
Communities
compensated.
There
in the design of pro-
Planning
consensus
in the
communities.
and
lMarine
that the community
that
plans for its future is more likely to have one. Some communities
have benetitted
their strengths
from the exercise of identifying
and planning
new enterprises
based on
them. THEREFORE,
community
profiles should be developed,
where they are not available, counselling
lives of residents
should be financially
There was widespread
that three years into the
trauma
tainable options
grams such as TAGS.
the emotional
Sustainable
.should direct funding,
to assist communities
of Human
should be community
moratorium,
problems
with com-
munity with the drive and vision to work to develop sus-
with benefits retained
counselling
there
such as GDP, do not reflect the sus-
communities: Sustainable
base at the same time as gov-
that have been made available to com-
ing and implementing
women
are clearly caught in the double
resource
redirect TAGS funding,
overarching
development
munity input.
province. THEREFORE,
“red tape,� to
tighten belts and curtail social programs,
resources As was noted in our community
particularly
ventures.
to community
are some resources 12.
should be put in place to
sharing
as multispecies
licences.
BEYOND
a mechanism
communities
with a basis for sound planning.
of the community
should be encouraged
ferences aside and participate Mechanisms
issues as economic
Ecosystems
in
of providing Members
to put their dif-
in community
planning.
should be put in place to facilitate the partic-
ipation of all stakeholders resources,
for the purpose
in the community
development,
management
etc. Time is of the essence.
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
on such of local
33
17.
Education
tourism
Based on extensive
discussions
of education
in our meet-
ings, it is clear that issues related to education ing are priorities recommend
for small communities.
all of the suggestions
to areas managed
those run as national
by Parks Canada,
historic
and train-
THEREFORE,
National
In general, we
Newfoundland
and Labrador
found on this subject in
sites) should recognize
parks and historic (including
for their considera-
sis and be encouraged
tion. A number
and merit refer-
nous peoples to ensure local economic
were raised repeatedly
with national
sites in
new and existing
the need to help in the current
the body of our report to government ence here.
in particular
sites.
to co-operate
cri-
with local and indigebenefits
consistent
park objectives.
THEREFORE: a) both levels of government ment a training awareness
program
for civil servants aimed at raising
and understanding
development
of conservation,
and environment-economy
b) adult basic education ongoing
standards
sustainable
Forests
In communities expressed
integration;
should be made a priority
funding to create universal
educational
20.
should develop and imple-
across the province
that forest management
same warning
access and to improve
interests,
overall across the province.
centralization
harvesting
sustainable
Everywhere
some of the
around large-scale
too close to (or beyond)
levels without
sufficient
especially the undue politicization The Newfoundland
1%. Youth
is showing
was
signs that were ignored in the fisheries cri-
sis: overcapitalization,
for
the concern
maximum
safety margins,
and
of the setting of quotas.
Forest Service is currently
in the
process of refining its revised, once every five years woodwe went we heard concerns
about youth and
supply analysis. There is public concern
that the figures
their future. Less often, we heard from youth directly.
coming out of this analysis will be distorted
Although
pressure
we did make an effort to invite youth, clearly we
and industry
by political
lobbying.
could and should have done more to give youth a space in our process. In any event, we are persuaded
that the needs
of youth and the impact on youth of the moratorium been essentially
have
DFO has recognized quota recommendations and has attempted
ignored.
the harm that can be done by having developed
ing the Fisheries Resource
whether
should be developed
as workshops
Newfoundland
and implemented,
and/or round tables, to foster dia-
logue among youth about community Programs
should be designed
sustainability.
by youth or in close consul-
tation with youth;
by establish-
Council
(FRCC).
multistakeholder c) counselling
and well represented
discussions
on community
the wood-supply
body established
analysis, review the assumptions
ate Annual Allowable
planning;
impacts of the current
on unalienated
not de-politicize
crisis.
parks
As noted in our report, a number frustration
over accessing economic
ties that should be open to them through
that a multistakeholder to balance the different
play. An alternative
process
Coastal
at
(and one that may be particuanalysis) documen-
tation to an independent
agency,
third-party
reviewing
as neutral and credible by industry,
organizations
and community
interests.
The results of the review must, of course, be fully available
increased
Communities
(not
interests
in the case of the wood-supply
to the public, the industry
Sustainable
group does
is to submit the draft figures and all supporting
environmental
opportuni-
of harvesting
the process, but simply attempts
one that is perceived
of communities
allocation
Crown land.
always successfully) larly appropriate
that
the appropri-
Cut levels and make recommenda-
We did hear concerns
but with the psychological
pub-
in order to assess
were used to generate the figures, determine
permits
in all
should be available for youth, dealing not
just with their career prospects
19., National
Forest Service, with an independent,
lic, multistakeholder
tions with respect to the equitable
b) youth should be involved
expressed
Conservation
We suggest that the same process be followed by the
THEREFORE, a) programs
in a closed process
to deal with this problem
and
Marine
Ecosystems
in
and non-governmental
Newfoundland
and
organi-
Labrador
zations at the same time as it is submitted with no agency having privileged
tainability.
to government,
The overriding
sense of community
access.
goal should be to develop a
spirit, to recapture
the values people
recall from the time when communities THEREFORE,
the provincial
Newfoundland
government
should refer the
Forest Service’s forthcoming
analysis to a rigorous,
independent
reliant, to overcome
wood-supply
local rivalries and bitterness
to work toward a common
goal -
THEREFORE,
we offer the following
on what many in communities Transportation
infrastructure,
advertisements tourism province
potential.
round
tables
should not wait for people to do it for
much valuable work. Get together
is an
can do
with other communi-
ties, roll up your sleeves and go to work.
wishes to
(Given the uniformly
for the province
department,
based
to us.
them. Local efforts, even small and unfunded,
it is equally clear that improving
especially if the government
community
Communities
the trans-
roads and ferry access to much of the province urgent priority,
1. Create
has fiscal constraints
that limit the funds available for improving
pursue its tourism
suggestions
expressed
infrastructure
While it is clear that the province
portation
in order
survival.
and public peer-
review process.
21.
were more self-
superb
from the provincial
we can only conclude
is serious about attracting
2. Foster
that the
tourists.)
Meanwhile,
local
Communities
stewardship
should take increased
responsibility
to
there are funds being spent on roads which we have heard
ensure that local stewardship
practices
are not wanted or needed.
They can work to encourage
a local ethic discouraging
THEREFORE,
government
decisions
place a priority
portation
infrastructure
Newfoundland
should in its transportation on providing
for remote
an adequate
communities
trans-
within
poaching
munities restricting
Although
ACTION
action by government
are to become sustainable Newfoundland
communities
are not pow-
erless. Nor should they feel that they have to sit back and see what government
to explore unilateral
conservation
measures,
refusing to fish unsustainable
gear or establishing
protected
areas.
does with these recommendations.
Communities
should develop and implement
make people more comfortable
about adult basic educa-
tion (such as the use of community counselling
strategies
cable channels,
peer
that should be implemented
as
and role models, etc).
Of course, we hope that this report will be useful to communities.
We hope that it will validate the concerns
raised to our Partnership, changes in government
they
4. Youth
and that they will press for One specific suggestion
policy as a result.
soon as possible is to encourage But we also believe there are steps communities immediately
Sustainable
to improve
Coastal
35
quotas,
3. Education
is critical if communities
once more in coastal
and Labrador,
wasteful practices.
in some cases it may be possible for com-
such as collectively
as well as Labrador.
COMMUNITY
and other environmentally
Furthermore,
are encouraged.
can take
their chances of achieving
Communities
and
sus-
Marine
a dialogue between
ers and youth, to educate youth about traditional edge, conservation
Ecosystems
in
ethics and community
Newfoundland
and
Labrador
values.
tishknowl-
to
Closing
We offer the above as an attempt dreds of comments
at synthesizing
Through
hun-
into specifics upon which key players
this report, we hope we have succeeded
in this crisis can take action. These specifics are what we
to seriously consider
believe the communities
planning
not the “recommendations� communities,
want to see. Although of any particular
Labrador.
they are group of
Ultimately,
we have drawn heavily on the voices from
within small coastal communities
in Newfoundland
In spite of the discouraging
their lives, people were extremely
generous
with us their tl____knowledge, _-__ concerns, -.~< _ ., ; I _ _
Sustainable
circumstances
Coastal
in giving
voice to their views. We urge both levels of government these proposals
and to fully integrate
and policy with people across the province. sustainability
is about democracy.
An aware
and alert citizenry engaged in the process of governance,
and
coupled with a responsive
and caring government,
elected and civil service, are the cornerstones
in
in sharing
Newfoundland
and Labradorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
both
for
future.
hopes and fears.
Communities
and
Marine
Ecosystems
in
Newfoundland
and
Labrador