By Andrew Nurse
On June 26th, Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced what it called the “historic decision” to end the northern cod moratorium. Its press release was, in fact, at pains to establish this decision’s supposedly historic character in a twofold sense. First, the announcement suggests that a long period in Atlantic regional history – the era of the moratorium – was at an end and a new, brighter future was about to dawn. Second, the end of the moratorium re-connected Newfoundlanders to their own past and culture. There is good reason to wonder if either of these statements is true.
The 1992 northern cod moratorium and the historical processes that led to it are among the most studied elements of Atlantic Canadian environmental and fishing history. The historical development of the Atlantic Canadian fishing industry is commemorated in museums, a heritage minute, artwork, song, and an alternative history comic book. As Sandy Hunter has noted, Newfoundland fisheries history involved an intricate interconnection to the development of trans-Atlantic colonialism. The recent Fisheries and Oceans Canada announcement is also an instance of what Michael Price has identified for the Pacific salmon fisheries as a case of ecological amnesia.
How so? Continue reading
