Fishing is the sole reason Newfoundland was settled and to a large extent, it's the still the raison d'être of most rural communities. So, after 500 years, you'd think they'd have a pretty good handle on running it properly but the fishing industry is riddled with structural inadequacies and getting it fixed won't happen overnight.
Michael Gardner said it best. The senior executive with Gardner-Pinfold Ltd., a consulting firm that has studied the Atlantic Canadian fishing industry for years, said the Newfoundland fishery is "structured to underperform."
Ironically, it seems that almost everyone in the business knows how to fix the problem but the trouble is getting fishermen and processors to agree on a course of action to do that. Till now, trying to get them as far as the starting point has been next to impossible.
Maine Taking the Lead: Report Maps Out Ways to Regroup $50 Million Loss in Lobster Revenue in 2008
By Alain Meuse
The economic crash gave the Maine lobster industry a huge wallop, siphoning $50-million plus from the state's most visible and iconic industry, the economic lifeblood-as it is for Atlantic coastal communities-and the engine for thousands of Maine households.
Rather than standing still, the Governor formed a Task Force to look at the economic sustainability of Maine's lobster industry.
The fishery in Maine is huge, with over 6,000 commercial license holders, 1,349 commercial licensed buyers and just three firms processing 10 million pounds of the annual catch.
The attack will center on the formation of a new entity involving everyone in the industry i.e. fishermen, buyer, and governments.
Emphases will be placed on the Maine lobster being a unique brand. The new entity could also be funded in part by a levy on each lobster landed (one to ten cents a pound) as well as other state and federal bodies.
A major bugbear has been the inability-as in Atlantic Canada-for the industry to act as a whole, with one purpose in mind.
"Maine's lobster industry has significant potential to strengthen its economic sustainability and overcome current market conditions, given its uniquely beloved brand and products," the authors of the report-The Moseley Group-say in its executive summary.
Common Resource, Common Responsibility By Sarah Perry Recently at the picturesque 'Government House' in St. John's, the Newfoundland and Labrador chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society unveiled a marine guide entitled "Special Marine Areas in Newfoundland and Labrador: Areas of Interest in Our Marine Backyard."
The official release of the guide was marked by a presentation to the honorable John Crosbie, NL's Lieutenant Governor and his wife Jane. Mr. Crosbie was asked to say a few words about the guide; and while he did just that, he also took the opportunity to move beyond the welcoming formalities and express some his own views on environmental conservation and protection.
As most harvesters in this province and arguably throughout Atlantic Canada know, John Crosbie was Federal fisheries minister in 1992 and therefore was in the eye of storm surrounding the moratorium announcement; a moment that he has stated has left a profound mark on his career and life. Crosbie told the crowd that the moratorium was a direct result of "everyone associated with the fishery" failing to conserve and protect the northern cod resource. He added that people are quick to direct blame in many different directions rather than at themselves, like overfishing by foreign vessels; a popular stance in the cod blame game. This he says is because cod and all other commercial fisheries are a common resource, so when something goes wrong there is no shortage of places to start placing blame and in turn, people tend to be too busy pointing fingers elsewhere to start searching for solutions.
