Even the Fish of the Sea are Perishing

Fish, fish, and more fish -- or less fish. The discussions about the presence of fish and the absence of fish were constant during our stay in Newfoundland during the month of July. If we had been moving around or only in the province for a week or two we might not have been as aware. A month makes a difference and we were settled for four weeks on Change Islands, a community with a fish plant.

Fish have become scarce in this province which a destination for European fishers of many nationalities before becoming a British colony. Change Islands was a summer fishing destination for Paleo-Esquimault people, then Beothuk Indians long before the Europeans arrived. At one time the population of Change Islands was as many as 1200 year-round residents but has dwindled to 200, in no small part because of the disappearance of fish. 



While we there the province acknowledged a dubious anniversary, the 25th since the declaration of a moratorium on fishing cod, once so abundant it was assumed that it was impossible to overfish the stocks. That was catastrophically wrong and so a "two-year" moratorium was imposed which has stretched on for a quarter century. For a week following the actual date CBC Radio in Newfoundland ran a series on what happened then and the gradual recovery of cod stocks. There is pressure to expand the small commercial fishery but scientists insist this would be a disaster. While we were there the recreational fishery allowing individuals to catch up to five fish a day was opened, but there wasn't much out there worth keeping.

Other species have sustained a smaller group of fishers, including crab and shrimp, although shrimp have now been over-fished as well. There were a fair number of lobsters "on the go" as folk there say, but in one of the communities I served as a minister four decades ago there are only three lobster fishermen today compared to the thirty back then. The Change Islands fish plant is empty a good part of the year because there just aren't species to process.

This is an ecological tragedy and a human crisis as well. The Change Islands school is almost without students now, and we chatted with the one student who will enter Grade 12 this Fall. All her courses this year will be online -- except gym! It is possible that within a decade or two the government will decide to end costly services to the aging, shrinking populations of many communities such as Change Islands. Resettlement is a real possibility.

Part of the public conversation while we were there was about a different outlook on fishing that moves from methods which are destructive to sustainable practices. The example of Iceland is cited, a nation which reinvented its failing fishery so that it is now a viable aspect of the economy. Interestingly, I spoke with an Icelander during our vacation there last September. He was proud of the change of direction for the fishery and mentioned Canada as a cautionary tale of how not to steward the resources of the sea.

At the top of this blog is an image by David Blackwood, a Newfoundland artist now living in Port Hope, Ontario. I've used this before in a blog. We had the honour of a meal with David and his wife several years ago and I asked him about the subject. This was his uncle, the Master Mariner of the title for the work. It is a lament though, for a lost way of life, one we can hope will be restored, even if partially. There is a biblical reference from the book of Hosea tucked along the bottom:
³
Therefore the land mourns,
   and all who live in it languish;
together with the wild animals
   and the birds of the air,
   even the fish of the sea are perishing.

Hosea 4:3

 

In Hosea there is also the promise of restoration. We'll  continue to pray for this in the province we have grown to love through the years.