Today is the 27th anniversary of the commercial cod moratorium, an event that swiftly brought to an end the island’s 500 year economic and cultural dependence on cod.
Over 19,000 jobs were directly affected by the biggest layoff in Canadian history.
In 1992, the population of Newfoundland and Labrador was 568,000, now it is just over 506,000.
President of FISH-NL, Ryan Cleary, was a journalist and fisheries reporter at the time and was in the room at the Radisson when the announcement was made by federal minister John Crosbie.
He says fish harvesters were upset that the announcement wasn’t being made to them directly and were trying to ram their way into the hotel conference room. He says Crosbie and his wife Jane maintained their composure throughout despite the tension.
VOCM’s Question of the Day is whether we as a province are better or worse off since the cod moratorium. Cleary says there’s no doubt in his mind, things are worse.
He says the northern cod was one of the richest stocks in the world, and yet after 27 years, stocks are still at a critical level with no rebuilding plan and no rebuilding targets set. The number of inshore harvesters has dropped by 85 per cent, and we lose about 100 harvesters a year.