Cod has been around our shores for centuries, and as a people and a province, we have reaped immense benefits from this giving resource. Over time, their numbers have dwindled — simply because those closest to the resource did not have a say in its management.
Today, as a responsible nation and a province — with the latter desperately seeking an economic recovery — we must return to our No. 1 renewable industry as a key to making the future the best it can be here in Newfoundland and Labrador.
There are many reasons to elevate the rebuilding of our groundfishery and its food supply to a national and provincial priority, including the following:
- Species respect — No matter how the cod and other fish resources have been decimated over the decades, we are responsible as humans to aid in their recovery and rebuilding.
- Food supply — Our fishery is a source of food supply for a growing world population and we have a moral obligation to protect it and help it recover.
- Healthy protein — Our collective health and quality of longevity depend on securing foods that are wild and organic. N.L.’s fish resource, if rebuilt, can meet that goal.
- Consumer preference — Consumers around the world are demanding sustainably sourced fish. We have to keep up with global best practices if Canada truly is committed to a green economic recovery.
- Environmental benefits — A blue economy with rebuilt fish populations has many economic and environmental benefits that will serve our province.
- Sustainable livelihood — Fishing and processing are sustainable means of living for many who live in rural communities. It offers a high standard of living and a good quality of life. The proof was there right in front of us from the mid-’70s to the late ’80s and would still be here if only it had been managed better.
- International agreements — The goal of fisheries management, as set in international agreements and in federal policy, is to bring fish populations back to healthy levels.
- Human rights — The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the dignity and worth of the human being and value of family in society. A lost fishery has stolen that right from our coastal people and communities, robbing us of a dependable high quality of living here at home. Instead, we are often forced to head to the mainland to feed our families and secure our future because the national government abandoned its constitutional obligation to safeguard our fish.
- Security for the future — Upcoming generations will need something more to survive than the oil business or mining industry. Every Newfoundlander today has that obligation on their shoulders, to ensure there’s a reason for our grandchildren to stay and ensure sustainability over multiple generations. “We shouldn’t discount the fish of our grandchildren.”— Rashid Sumaila.
There are many reasons to elevate the rebuilding of our groundfishery and its food supply to a national and provincial priority…
Consider Iceland, a highly successful fishing nation, with a smaller population than our province, which has also weathered declining fish stocks, but fought back. Imagine Iceland without fish! The country would fail to exist.
That’s Newfoundland in 50 years if we do not take action now and unlock our fish potential. It’s the best option post-oil and mining that N.L. can rely on to exist.
Two forces are fighting for survival here — our fish resource and our province. Let’s get back to helping each other thrive, once again.
Ask your candidate if they are willing to go fishing, so we can place the urgency back into our collective rebuilding process, as well as and hope and light back into our rural communities.
Gus Etchegary
Fishery Community Alliance
