Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have a rightful place at the table. Petition for joint management of our province’s fishery.
2024: The new threat to Northern cod
The federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans on June 26 announced the end of the Northern cod moratorium and the re-establishment of a full-blown commercial fishery – before the resource is ready and without substantial and meaningful consultations with Newfoundland and Labrador. The quota, suddenly boosted to 18,000 tonnes, would go in part to offshore trawlers – the very fleets that did most to deplete the stocks in the first place.
The announcement brought on a full-force storm of protest from the province’s fish harvesters and processors. To quote Greg Pretty, leader of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union, “You just can’t lift a 32-year moratorium and ignore an over 40-year commitment without any meaningful explanation.”
In light of the Northern cod mistake and other concerns, the leaders of every province and territory have together made an historic call on the Federal Government for joint management of fisheries.
"Changes that provide increased access to foreign fleets, coupled with the risk of overfishing, are an affront to the patience and commitment to stewardship demonstrated by the hardworking harvesters and processors of this province. . . . The province simply cannot support fish being harvested by foreign countries at the expense of our own harvesters."
— Dr. Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, July 3, 2024, in a letter to federal fisheries minister Diane Lebouthillier.
To change direction, we must take control.
The collapse of the Northern cod, which devastated thousands of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, came as a result of decisions made thousands of kilometres away in far-off Ottawa. Those who were most impacted had little say in the management of a resource that sustained this province for centuries. Today, a fishery that is jointly managed, with the people most closely tied to the resource having an equal say in its governance, will help prevent the biggest fishery collapse of the twentieth century from occurring again.