Cod_ A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World - Mark Kurlansky [70]
A debate raged over the fundamental tool of fishery management, the quotas, which were based on ICES attempts to monitor fishing populations. If groundfish were diminishing, fishermen were to fish less of them and at the same time increase their catch of the smaller fish on which they feed. Through quotas, man was attempting to artificially readjust the balance of the species while fishermen continued to earn a living.
But estimates of stock sizes were based on landings, the fish brought to market, and not on catch, the fish taken onto the boats, which was closer to the number of fish killed. As much as 40 percent of catches were being dumped back into the sea, even though most of these fish were already dead. Fishermen were radioed market prices to their boats at sea, and if the price dropped too low on a species, they would dump those fish overboard. Townsend, and many others, believed that the quotas bore no relationship to the actual state of the fish stocks. He laughed at questions of vanishing cod. “We have been plagued by cod. We don’t know what to do with them.” But fishermen, including Hooper, did not agree. According to Hooper, though there were momentary increases, the stocks have been declining.
In 1995, Canadian fisheries minister Brian Tobin offered a diversion from the frustrating complexity of fishery issues when he arrested a Spanish trawler, the Estai, confiscating the ship, the catch, and the gear. The Estai was held for a week while Canadian fisheries authorities rummaged through the 350 metric tons of fish aboard for evidence that its captain had violated North Atlantic conservation standards. Then, armed with photos of undersized Greenland halibut, also known as turbot, which the Estai had caught in the international part of the Grand Banks, and a salvaged undersized net, which the Spanish had dumped overboard, Tobin went to the UN in New York. There he delivered a defiant speech asserting that Canada intended to continue arresting Spanish trawlers and cutting their nets until some international conservation policy was established for the waters beyond Canada’s 200-mile limit. He went on to say that Canada was taking this stand with humility, recognizing its own guilt for overfishing in the past. He said that Canadians took no pride in doing this, a rhetorical embellishment that the Canadian press seized on. The Toronto Star said, “Tobin was a bit disingenuous there. Canadians are proud—even gleeful—at the sight of one of their politicians finally standing up and doing something about one of the world’s environmental disasters. In grim cost-cutting times, his colorful language and flare for the headlines have made Tobin the best act in town.”
Tobin called the Spanish captains “rogue pirates,” and Newfoundland premier Clyde Wells held up photos of undersized fish while accusing the Spanish fishermen of lying and cheating. The Canadian Coast Guard continued to chase Spanish trawlers off the international section of the Grand Banks, and when one trawler moved back in, Canada stole a page from Iceland’s Coast Guard and cut its net. The Canadians were very happy. The British were very happy. In Newlyn, they flew the red maple leaf flag of Canada. Fishermen from Newfoundland to Rhode Island to Cornwall cheered. In the 1996 election, Tobin was voted Newfoundland premier in a big victory for the Liberals. The Europeans also had their victory. Emma Bonino, fisheries commissioner for the European Union, said Canada’s fisheries minister was the real pirate and denounced Canada for reckless acts endangering the lives of Spanish fishermen on the high seas. The Canadians quietly released the men, ship, and gear, and the Spaniards, who had their own electorate to think of, threatened to sue Canada. Politically, the incident was a win for all sides.
In Petty Harbour, Sam Lee said, “It was good to watch, but it wasn’t real. It was like going to the movies.”
To the Cornish fishermen, it was a further vindication for their survival struggle against the Spanish. William Hooper said, “The biggest problem we