Fishing for Truth: A Sociological Analysis of Northern Cod Stock Assessments from 1977 to 1990

John Van West is a policy analyst at the Ontario Native Affairs
Secretariat.

This extraordinary book examines the role and interplay of a
multiplicity of social forces responsible for Canada’s management (or
mismanagement) of Newfoundland’s northern cod stocks from 1977 until
1990. Using “forensic sociology,” Finlayson explains how political,
scientific, and sociological processes resulted in federal scientists
constructing their own models of assessment to determine the status of
the northern cod stocks, which led to overoptimistic assessments and
projections of the stock size.

Central to Finlayson’s analysis is the contention that no one has
“unique and privileged access to the truth.” To this end, the author
juxtaposes his interpretation of the events with that of Jaka Rice, a
senior Department of Fisheries and Oceans scientist and one of
Finlayson’s principal critics. This is a refreshing, indeed rare,
approach in a scholarly production.

Fishing for Truth is an important and compelling work of scholarship.
It should be required reading for anyone involved in the management of
natural resources.