Net Destruction: The Death of Atlantic Canada's Fishery

Richard G. Kuhn is an associate professor of geography at the University
of Guelph.

The Atlantic fishery is in a state of crisis. The establishment of a
moratorium on the harvesting of North Atlantic cod in 1992 turned
attention dramatically to the plight of fishers, fishing-reliant
communities, and the economy of the Atlantic provinces. The immediate
questions of “Who is to blame?” have now become “What do we do?”
Net Destruction focuses on both of these issues. The book begins with an
overview of the circumstances leading to the collapse of the fishery,
focusing primarily on events since the declaration of the 200-mile
(332-km) territorial limit in 1977. The extension of Canadian territory
is viewed by Blades as a squandered opportunity for fisheries managers
and government officials. Rather than adopt a conservative approach to
managing the resource, governments promoted the establishment of a
large-scale commercial fishery and of high catch levels despite
protestations from inshore fishers and others that a crisis was looming.
As Blades points out, the crisis in the Atlantic groundfishery was
predicted and avoidable. The 1992 moratorium and its extension to other
fishing areas and stocks devastated hundreds of communities and has put
tens of thousands of people out of work. This is a full-scale tragedy.

The remainder of the book focuses on the question of what can be done
to salvage the fishery and the communities that were reliant on the
fishing industry. A review of the nature of the fishery and of the
environmental factors that affect the resource is followed by a
discussion of the evolution of fishing technology and industry (e.g.,
inshore vs. offshore). A harsh critique of government managers and
decision-makers precedes a discussion of the measures required to ensure
that the resource—when and if it recovers—can be harvested in a
sustainable manner. A change in philosophy from exploitation to
sustainability based on the ecological characteristics of the different
fisheries is required. The principles of this management system are not
new. What is needed is the will to act. Blades has produced a thorough
and critical analysis, and one that deserves a wide readership.