The unvarnished truth is the caplin fishery should have been closed immediately when John Crosbie announced the cod moratorium almost three decades ago.
According to George Rose’s textbook on the North Atlantic fishery, the historic biomass of the caplin in Newfoundland waters was 10 million to 12 million metric tonnes.
Some people point to Norway and Iceland as examples to follow in fishery policy. They are wise and careful stewards.
Ours? Hardly.
I have been told the caplin caught by this fishing “nation” are sent to Japan to be packaged as a salty snack and sold in that country’s taverns and saloons. That surely must be an ignominious end for a female on the verge of obeying Nature’s command to all life.
The Sea of Okhotsk is an arm of the Pacific Ocean north of the Japanese home island of Hokkaido. There are caplin in that sea. They are not fished. Why? It is smarter to leave their caplin as food for other fish stocks and marine mammals and buy what they need from short-sighted us .
How many more years will the cod moratorium be in effect? July 2042 will be the 50th anniversary. It won’t be long in coming.
Tom Careen
Placentia
