Cod and Newfoundlander & Labrador are linked liked the moon and the stars. It's hard not to think about one without the other.
Centuries ago, our waters teemed in these fish; and we treasured them, traded them and yes, we ate them.
Centuries ago, our waters teemed in these fish; and we treasured them, traded them and yes, we ate them.
Now, we are now down to a dictated fishery that permits our citizens only five fish a day for just 31 days of the year (July 19-August 10/September 20 -28th). The feds call it the recreational fishery, but we shouldn’t let them - for our people, it's our chance to put our traditional food back on the table.
My uncle recently shared a story about how, as young boy coming home from school for lunch, my grandmother would ask him to take the flat boat and row off a little ways in the cove and jig a Cod or two for supper.
My uncle recently shared a story about how, as young boy coming home from school for lunch, my grandmother would ask him to take the flat boat and row off a little ways in the cove and jig a Cod or two for supper.
It would take just a few minutes and I would have a couple of good-sized fish and head back to school. But things were different then....
When it comes to Cod - it could have been different. We could have sustained our ability to fish for food every day of the year. Instead, the bungling Cod managers in Ottawa mismanaged it so gravely, we nearly lost the resource. Twenty three years later, we are lucky to have a food fishery.
Back a year ago, some 18 organizations convened a meeting in Clarenville and found a common ground in expressing massive dissatisfaction with the Atlantic Canada 2013 groundfish regulations. In other Atlantic Provinces, up to 10 groundfish are permitted and the season runs much longer – up to 11 months in one part of Nova Scotia.
This coalition wrote the Prime Minister, but despite their poor track record on managing fish stocks Ottawa argued they know best. Thus, these unfair regulations are still in place. This ongoing and controversial policy is discriminatory. And it needs changing, especially given that our Cod is on the first step of the rebound ladder.
What we really need is joint management of our fisheries – but in the meantime, we needed justice. Our culture and our heritage have been built on the Cod fishery; and our bodies nourished by this world-famous fish. Not something those without coastal genes far from the ocean would understand.
Not certain where this quote came from, but it sums it up nicely our love of a good meal of Cod…
The food fishery "sure that's not a meal! When you were fishing , fer sure you had fish once a day"
Sure, I wouldn't mind if we had it 3 times a day …
Sure, I wouldn't mind if we had it 3 times a day …
So despite the unfairness, Cod-bless the traditional fish that is on our tables on those regulated days. Keep Safe!
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