Fishermen “cautiously optimistic” about cod stocks in Newfoundland

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Hi, I'm Rebecca Zandbergen, and you're listening to The Current podcast. The tide may be turning for Newfoundland's cod fishery. Nobody there forgets 1992 when Ottawa declared a moratorium on cod fishing. That fish was the heart of the province's economy and culture, and overnight, nearly 30,000 people lost their jobs. It was the largest layoff in Canadian history. In Bay Bulls, angry protestors confronted then Fisheries Minister John Crosbie, and he shouted right back.

Abuse you.

I didn't take the fish from the goddamn water.

Well, who took it? You, you and your goddamn people took it.

No.

You and your people took it.

No, I'm trying to do my damn best.

Yes, you're doing shit all, that's what you're doing.

No, I'm not doing nothing.

You're doing nothing.

In the decades since, Newfoundlanders left to find work in other provinces, and the industry shrank. But now cod is making a comeback. Earlier this year, Ottawa declared the stock healthy and raised the commercial quota, the allowable catch, by 55%. Here's Federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson speaking to CBC Radio's The Broadcast.

I can tell you, I remember the devastation and what it looked like in those years. And so to, you know, be in a place that I'm able to say the health of the stock is such that we can see increases across all aspects of northern cod fishery, that's a remarkable day.

But the good news comes with challenges: ensuring the stocks stay healthy, finding people to catch all that fish, and getting younger folks to join an aging profession. David Maher is a deckhand on the Dalton's Pride in Admiral's Beach, Newfoundland and Labrador. He's in St. John's today. Lillian Saul is an inshore owner/operator who fishes cod, crab, and lobster in Twillingate. Good morning to you both.

Good morning.

Good morning, Rebecca.

Uh, Lillian, how is business these days?

Well, I bought my enterprise, this will be my third season, ending my third season soon. And the last three years have been awesome. I never imagined how good it could be the last three years. And, like, my first year I thought was awesome, but e- each year since then has only gotten better. This year has been absolutely stellar. So I can say only good things about the state of the fishery right now.

Mm-hmm. A- and speaking of young people in the industry, you, you bought this when you were 27 years old and got into this. You're from the US, so how did you at such a young age find yourself in, in [laughs]