DCHP-2

cod moratorium Cod Moratorium, moratorium on the cod fishery DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• n. — Newfoundland, Fishing

  the indefinite suspension of cod fishing in Newfoundland's fishing grounds in 1992.

  Type: 1. Origin — The cod moratorium in 1992 resulted in the closure of an industry that had sustained the province of Newfoundland for nearly 500 years; it was instantiated by the federal government in an attempt to save the threatened northern cod from extinction (see Canadian Encyclopedia, s.v. "History of Commercial Fisheries"). Decades of over-fishing led to this drastic measure, which was overseen by John Crosbie, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (see the first 1994 quotation). In an attempt to support the nearly 30,000 fishermen and plant workers affected by the closure, the government established the Northern Cod Adjustment and Recovery Program, which included weekly monetary compensation of anywhere from $225 to $406 (see Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, s.v. "The Northern Cod Adjustment and Recovery Program (N-CARP)"). Though the 1992 northern cod moratorium was initially intended to last for only two years, ever-decreasing codfish stocks led to an indefinite moratorium in 1993 that extended to include the southern fisheries (see the second 1994 quotation).
  Along with a severe economic impact, the cod moratorium has had detrimental social effects on the province. According to studies conducted by Health Canada, there has been a 10% population decrease in Newfoundland between 1991 and 2001, resulting "from high levels of out-migration and decreased birth rate following the Cod Moratorium [...]" (Murray 2005: 41). The population has also aged significantly since 1991 because of the "out-migration of young families and the associated decline in birth rate" (Murray 2005: 44).
  Because codfish numbers were, as of 2015, still not optimal, the moratorium remains in place; yet there is hope for some relief (see the 2015 quotation). The Northern Atlantic fishing industry has consequently concentrated their efforts on shellfish (see Canadian Encyclopedia, s.v. "Newfoundland and Labrador"). Cod moratorium appears most frequently in Canada (see Chart 1), with regional results clearly favouring Newfoundland (see Chart 2).

  See also: barge  screech-in  cod tongue  

  • 1992  "The Northern Cod Moratorium has been a blessing for many fishermen in that it supplied a guaranteed income to people who have experienced very poor fisheries for several years. We have 18-20 fishermen both here and in Garden Cove, and there are six in Swift Current." 
  • 1994  From 1976 until his retirement in June of 1993 Mr. Crosbie was the federal member for St. John's West. During the administrations of Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney, Mr. Crosbie held several key portfolios, including finance, justice, trasport, international trade, and fisheries. It was in the latter capacity that Mr. Crosbie was faced with the daunting prospoect of announcing a two-year moratorium on the Northern cod fishery in 1992. 
  • 1994  The complete collapse of the cod stocks forced Canada to declare a moratorium in the cod-fishing industry, beginning with the north and east coast of Newfoundland in 1992, and extending to most of southern Newfoundland in 1993. With or without access to the fishing grounds, with or without larger quotas, the fact remained that by the early 1990s there were few if any fish to be caught. 
  • 1997  It is impossible to comprehend the Gulf cod moratorium at the beginning of 1994 without grasping the impact of the northern cod moratorium that began during the summer of 1992. [...] Because of collector boats that brought several million pounds of northern cod from Labrador to the Great Northern Peninsula for processing, workers at several fish plants qualified for the northern cod moratorium compensation package. This only increased the cries of injustice from workers at fish plants who did not qualify for compensation, despite the fact that they had little or no work. When the Gulf cod moratorium led to the closure of many area fish plants, workers scrambled to qualify for their own compensation packages. 
  • 1999  As federal fisheries minister, [Dr. John Crosbie] was responsible for establishing the Northern Cod Adjustment and Recovery Program to assist some 25,000 fishers and plant workers affected by the northern cod moratorium. 
  • 2001  The Discovery Smart Group is a community-based organization dedicated to achieving change and growth in a traditionally fishery-dependent region that has seen tremendous social upheaval in the wake of the cod moratorium, explained Kathryn Small, the project leader/conference planner. 
  • 2006  The cod moratorium hit the town hard but the effect was short lived. "We didn't really go through a long period of time when there was no work in the plant. In 1993 we started processing frozen-at-sea cod," says Osbourne. "Even though we started off with a smaller staff working a lot less weeks, people had some hope that the plant would survive and still provide employment in the community." 
  • 2013  The provincial fishery is a shadow of what it was before the 1992 commercial cod moratorium. But it's still a $1-billion industry that employs 19,000 people, many in rural regions. 
  • 2015  HALIFAX -- There is growing hope that the once decimated northern cod stock is making a slow, but steady comeback, according to a new study that found the iconic species is growing in size and number off Newfoundland. George Rose, the report's co-author, said acoustic surveys last spring indicated that the fish were getting bigger and more plentiful after 23 years of a government-imposed moratorium and halting growth.
    [...]
    The northern cod moratorium threw thousands of people out of work after it was announced July 2, 1992. It was initially to last just two years, though Rose predicted at the time it would take much longer for stocks to recover.