The Fishery, Before and After 1992

The fishery was Bonavista's main industry. Cod drew the Europeans here in the 1490's and kept us here in the 1990's. Without the fishery, Bonavista could not survive. "IN COD WE TRUST!"

There are roughly 375 fishermen in Bonavista consisting of 110 Longliner fishfolk, using 50-60 foot boats, and 265 small boat fishfolk, using 18-24 foot boats. Fishery Products International (FPI) employed 120 workers in the Crab Plant, 150 workers in the Fish Plant, and 60 people in management positions. That was a total of 330 workers employed with FPI. The fishery, then, gave 705 direct jobs, not to mention some "spin-off" positions in Bonavista.

The main species of fish caught at Bonavista were cod, herring, queen crab, caplin, salmon, and lobster. The small boats go out and come back on the same day, but longliners fish far from the shore and could be gone from 4-7 days at a time.

Local issues and concerns about the fishing industry at the time included:

• Whether the drift Arctic ice will remain inshore into the fishing months. If so, this will shorten the season and lessen incomes.
• Fish prices, are they higher or lower than last year?
• Availability of the marketable fish species.
• The presence of an algae (slub) in fishermen's nets. This is caused by water temperature and causes the fish to see the nets because they are made visible by the slub. Fish just won't go into the nets!
• Potential oil spills which would destroy marine life.
• The possibility of increased numbers of whales, causing proportionate increases in damages to nets and cod traps.
• The presence of increased numbers of seals, endangering the fish stock. Seals eat cod to live.
• Changes in Government policy regarding the fishery - net sizes, tight control over quotas and start-up/close-down times.
• The effects of pollution and disease on fish.

In the spring of 1992 the Federal Government imposed a moratorium on the cod fishery because of concerns with the depletion of the cod stocks. This has had a drastic effect on the community - socially, financially, and psychologically. The life of rural Newfoundland had been completely changed. People who were used to working and wanted to work - no longer had work!

This event has also led to the increased importance of the crab fishery and its ability to maintain the economy at its respectable level.