On the 32nd anniversary of the historic Northern cod moratorium, fish fishermen in Newfoundland and Labrador are demanding an immediate return of the Northern Cod Stewardship Fishery. This comes in response to an announcement from the federal government earlier this week, which revealed plans to return the important species to commercial status and allow offshore draggers (trawlers) to access the stock.
FFAW-Unifor President Greg Pretty expressed the province’s demand for the federal government to return the northern cod resource back to a stewardship fishery. He emphasised the need to protect the species as it continues to rebuild. “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised in writing in 2015, that the 115,000-tonne commitment from 1982 would be protected, and that inshore fishermen would be the primary beneficiaries of the northern cod stock,” Pretty said. “But here we are at a quota of around 19,000 tonne and the Trudeau Government is already letting the offshore draggers back onto the water.”
The Union, representing over 10,000 professional, owner-operator fish fishermen in the province, is demanding the government return to a stewardship fishery, reaffirm the commitment to ban offshore draggers until 115,000 tonnes, and re-implement all 2023 fishery rules.
Inshore Council member Glen Winslow, who also participates on the internal working group for 2J3KL northern cod, stated, “Reverting back to a stewardship fishery is the only way forward here. This fishery needs to be protected for generations to come and breaking the 115,000 tonne promise and allowing draggers back in already is going to do irreparable harm to our fishery, our coastal communities, and our province as a whole.”
Fishermen argue that the stewardship fishery should remain in place until the 115,000-tonne threshold is met. At that point, the offshore dragger group could be permitted access to the fishery. Until then, the inshore, owner-operator fishery and Indigenous groups should be the only beneficiaries of this historically and economically critical fishery.
The Union is urging all concerned citizens to sign the House of Commons e-petition 5057, which asks for a return to the stewardship fishery and to reaffirm the 115,000mt commitment. The FFAW expects the petition to be published on the HoC Petition website on July 2, 2024. The petition has been authorised by MP Lisa Marie Barron in British Columbia.
“The inshore fleet has ample capacity to fish this stock and breaking promises and permitting environmentally destructive draggers is counterintuitive to the Government of Canada’s mandate. As a province, we will not sit by and let it happen,” concluded Pretty.
Unifor and the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) are urging the public to support fishermen in Newfoundland and Labrador, who are calling for the federal government to reverse its decision to reopen the northern cod commercial fishery to the offshore companies and return instead to the stewardship fishery.
“The federal government needs to exercise responsibility and reinstate the Northern Cod Stewardship Fishery to ensure that the resource continues to rebuild and be protected for generations to come,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne.
“If the government doesn’t make a move on this decision, it will negatively affect FFAW-Unifor members’ jobs at sea and on land, their coastal communities, and the northern cod species itself as it cannot withstand the increased fishing pressure of offshore Canadian and international vessels while it is in the Cautious Zone.”
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised in writing in 2015, that the 115,000mt commitment from 1982 would be protected, and that inshore harvesters would be the primary beneficiaries of the northern cod stock,” said FFAW-Unifor President Greg Pretty, referring to the Liberal campaign promise that the first 115,000mt of the cod quota would go to inshore harvesters as the stock rebuilds.
“But here we are at a quota of around 19,000t and the federal government is already letting the offshore draggers back onto the water. We need to protect our plant workers, our owner-operator harvesters, and the long-term sustainability of our coastal communities.”