He looked back at me with a glint in his eye and said, It s moments like this, I know who I am. Canada s Atlantic fishery has changed dramatically since Vern Murphy described that scene from his childhood nearly 40 years ago. Yet the issue of who we are has become even more urgent. I ve lived by longline fishing 1 for the last 12 years. Over that time I ve come to see both the fishing industry and the community in which I live threatened.
People blame the seals or the foreigners for the decline of fish stocks.
But the dragger fleet is a different story. These expensive trawlers are packed with sophisticated fish-finding technology. They can travel long distances to reach the fish and they don t need to worry about the weather. They can carry large supplies of food and fuel and tie up in the port nearest the fish. The Canadian dragger fleet now has five times the capacity required to catch its annual quota.