Kirk Squires
The Packet
It’s about time. Too little too late. What’s new about this?
Those are just some of the phrases used to describe Premier Danny Williams’ fisheries summit last week.
The bigger question coming out of the summit is what did it really solve?
There was a consensus there is overcapcity in the industry.
Did we need a summit to determine that gem of knowledge?
They surely knew there was overcapacity. After all it was the current administration that contributed to that overcapcity by providing financial assistance to help plants stay in operation in places like St. Anthony and look at government’s fight to keep the FPI plant in Harbour Breton afloat.
The problems the summit identified are the same problems that have existed in the fishery for years.
Those problems have been slowly eating away at the fishery like some insidious parasite.
Everyone, including government, knew problems like overcapacity in the industry existed but nothing was done about it. It took the closure of several plants across the island to make the government finally sit up and recognize there is a crisis in the industry. And if overcapacity is such a problem, is the closure of those plants a crisis?
It’s nice to see government is actually awake and aware of the issue.
Unfortunately, this crisis has existed in the fishery since the 1992 cod moratorium.
That was the first sign the industry was dying a slow and painful death.
Competition from places like China, and some of the other problems facing the industry, were largely ignored for may years because a good portion of the industry and the government were riding high on the "new" fishery: crab and shrimp.
Those fisheries were bringing in big bucks. Crab fishermen were making a good living, exports were good and markets in the U.S. were strong. Cod was just a distant memory.
With the crab fishery at its peak it was easy for government and, in many respects the industry itself to ignore the fact the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery was on the verge of collapse.
As many areas of the province were riding the crab wave places like Arnold’s Cove were watching the growth of the Chinese tiger. The plant in that community still relied on groundfish and they were often forced to get raw material for processing on the open market. They were likely the first to experience the impact of Chinese competition and the rising Canadian dollar.
Last year the Packet reported on how China was hurting the groundfish industry in the province. We also published articles outlining what Alaska was doing in an attempt to salvage its crab industry.
All the signs were there but government, essentially, did nothing.
Danny Williams can’t go toe-to-toe with China the way he did with the oil companies over the Hebron project. Likewise he may be a shrewd businessman but he is no Alan Greenspan; he has no influence on the value of Canadian or U.S. currency.
But he should have sat up and taken notice of the problems within the industry.
In his defence a summit should have been held in 1992 when John Crosbie announced the end of the cod fishery. Immediately the provincial and federal governments should have put the brakes on and determined where the fishery would go and how it could become sustainable.
The Newfoundland and Labrador fishery has been the biggest ad hoc exercise in the history of this province.
Governments, both provincial and federal, along with unions and fish processors have mastered the art of putting out fires and damage control. That might work for the short-term but it won’t bring long-term sustainability.
I have said it before and I will say it again, when it comes to the energy sector this government is second to none. Danny has been demanding a better deal for the province and getting it.
The Premier needs to do the same thing with the fishery. He needs to take a leadership role because none of the fisheries ministers in recent memory have solved any of the problems facing the industry.
The Premier has no problem telling the oil companies if they want to do business here there have to be benefits for Newfoundland and Labrador. He didn’t think twice about pulling down the Maple Leaf to get a better deal from Ottawa on the Atlantic Accord.
The same strong stance should be taken to help the fishing industry.
The provincial government should start with the processors who feel it is their God-given right to take this province’s resource and do what they like with it, as long as it fills their own bank accounts. The province needs to halt all exports of seafood products that haven’t been processed in this province.
There is already a rule on the books which says any fish landed in this province has to be processed here. That rule applies to fish harvesters. It’s time to apply the same law to processors.
The merchant system should have ended in this province over a hundred years ago but, unfortunately, it’s that merchant mentality that has partially contributed to the mess we are in.
And while the Premier is at it he needs to send a clear message to Ottawa that the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery will not be used as a foreign trade bargaining chip. This country must take custodial management of the nose and tail of the Grand Banks and stop the raping of our resource by foreign trawlers. Added to that is the fact this province should have a much larger role in managing the fishery off our shores.
Ottawa obviously can’t be left to manage it. Look at the mess they have created.
The provincial government sees the value of its energy resources. They want to develop those energy resources — hydroelectricity, oil and gas — in a way that can benefit the province. As a result government is currently engaged in developing an Energy Policy that will outline how the province will proceed into the future.
Isn’t the fishery just as vital a resource?
Can someone then explain why the hell this government hasn’t bothered to launch a similar plan in the fishery in an effort to make it sustainable and a benefit to the province?
The Packet
It’s about time. Too little too late. What’s new about this?
Those are just some of the phrases used to describe Premier Danny Williams’ fisheries summit last week.
The bigger question coming out of the summit is what did it really solve?
There was a consensus there is overcapcity in the industry.
Did we need a summit to determine that gem of knowledge?
They surely knew there was overcapacity. After all it was the current administration that contributed to that overcapcity by providing financial assistance to help plants stay in operation in places like St. Anthony and look at government’s fight to keep the FPI plant in Harbour Breton afloat.
The problems the summit identified are the same problems that have existed in the fishery for years.
Those problems have been slowly eating away at the fishery like some insidious parasite.
Everyone, including government, knew problems like overcapacity in the industry existed but nothing was done about it. It took the closure of several plants across the island to make the government finally sit up and recognize there is a crisis in the industry. And if overcapacity is such a problem, is the closure of those plants a crisis?
It’s nice to see government is actually awake and aware of the issue.
Unfortunately, this crisis has existed in the fishery since the 1992 cod moratorium.
That was the first sign the industry was dying a slow and painful death.
Competition from places like China, and some of the other problems facing the industry, were largely ignored for may years because a good portion of the industry and the government were riding high on the "new" fishery: crab and shrimp.
Those fisheries were bringing in big bucks. Crab fishermen were making a good living, exports were good and markets in the U.S. were strong. Cod was just a distant memory.
With the crab fishery at its peak it was easy for government and, in many respects the industry itself to ignore the fact the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery was on the verge of collapse.
As many areas of the province were riding the crab wave places like Arnold’s Cove were watching the growth of the Chinese tiger. The plant in that community still relied on groundfish and they were often forced to get raw material for processing on the open market. They were likely the first to experience the impact of Chinese competition and the rising Canadian dollar.
Last year the Packet reported on how China was hurting the groundfish industry in the province. We also published articles outlining what Alaska was doing in an attempt to salvage its crab industry.
All the signs were there but government, essentially, did nothing.
Danny Williams can’t go toe-to-toe with China the way he did with the oil companies over the Hebron project. Likewise he may be a shrewd businessman but he is no Alan Greenspan; he has no influence on the value of Canadian or U.S. currency.
But he should have sat up and taken notice of the problems within the industry.
In his defence a summit should have been held in 1992 when John Crosbie announced the end of the cod fishery. Immediately the provincial and federal governments should have put the brakes on and determined where the fishery would go and how it could become sustainable.
The Newfoundland and Labrador fishery has been the biggest ad hoc exercise in the history of this province.
Governments, both provincial and federal, along with unions and fish processors have mastered the art of putting out fires and damage control. That might work for the short-term but it won’t bring long-term sustainability.
I have said it before and I will say it again, when it comes to the energy sector this government is second to none. Danny has been demanding a better deal for the province and getting it.
The Premier needs to do the same thing with the fishery. He needs to take a leadership role because none of the fisheries ministers in recent memory have solved any of the problems facing the industry.
The Premier has no problem telling the oil companies if they want to do business here there have to be benefits for Newfoundland and Labrador. He didn’t think twice about pulling down the Maple Leaf to get a better deal from Ottawa on the Atlantic Accord.
The same strong stance should be taken to help the fishing industry.
The provincial government should start with the processors who feel it is their God-given right to take this province’s resource and do what they like with it, as long as it fills their own bank accounts. The province needs to halt all exports of seafood products that haven’t been processed in this province.
There is already a rule on the books which says any fish landed in this province has to be processed here. That rule applies to fish harvesters. It’s time to apply the same law to processors.
The merchant system should have ended in this province over a hundred years ago but, unfortunately, it’s that merchant mentality that has partially contributed to the mess we are in.
And while the Premier is at it he needs to send a clear message to Ottawa that the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery will not be used as a foreign trade bargaining chip. This country must take custodial management of the nose and tail of the Grand Banks and stop the raping of our resource by foreign trawlers. Added to that is the fact this province should have a much larger role in managing the fishery off our shores.
Ottawa obviously can’t be left to manage it. Look at the mess they have created.
The provincial government sees the value of its energy resources. They want to develop those energy resources — hydroelectricity, oil and gas — in a way that can benefit the province. As a result government is currently engaged in developing an Energy Policy that will outline how the province will proceed into the future.
Isn’t the fishery just as vital a resource?
Can someone then explain why the hell this government hasn’t bothered to launch a similar plan in the fishery in an effort to make it sustainable and a benefit to the province?