Nothing on table from federal government to restore fishery they destroyed over 70 years: Etchegary

Last week, on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the northern cod moratorium, 98-year-old Gus Etchegary — who retired in the late 1980s as a fishing industry executive, and has been an outspoken advocate for sustainable fisheries ever since — said Ottawa has ""abandoned" the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery.

The impact of foreign overfishing to this day on migratory stocks outside Canada's 200-mile limit is huge.

Since the pandemic began foreign draggers sidestep inspections on the high seas by saying there's Covid aboard.

Last October the captain of a Faroe Islands longliner accused "pirate trawlers" of destroying the Grand Banks under the nose of Fisheries and Oceans by directing for moratorium species such as cod and other illegal fishing activities.

"A Newfoundland dragger trying to fish with the Russian fleet would be like a man on a bicycle in New York traffic."

— The late Dr. Wilfred Templeman, head of the Newfoundland Research Station prior to Confederation, from the 1960 Maclean's magazine article, The Societ's floating city in our Atlantic waters.

The article begins: "Twenty-five thousand Russian fishermen, aboard a city-fleet of 200 ships, are scouring the banks of Newfoundland. They live with most of the comforts of home and stalk fish with scientific precision. They are, in fact, the first wave of history's biggest fishing offensive ... "

Lest we forget.

Ryan Cleary, Executive Director, SEA-NL To read more about SEA-NL, or to join the non-profit organization please visit sea-nl.ca