Something's Fishy
Public Policy and Private Corporations in the Newfoundland Fishing Industry

Publisher:  St.John's Oxfam Committee
Year Published:  1982
Pages:  36pp   Price:  $2.50   Resource Type:  Book
Cx Number:  CX2787

Abstract: 
Who is to blame for the present depressed state of the Newfoundland fishery? In this publication of the St. John's Oxfam committee, Roger Carter analyses the usual responses to this question - external factors such as weak markets and high interest rates and internal factors such as low productivity and too many fisherman. According to Carter, these are all but symptoms of the real probem-the concentraiotn of ownweship of the fishery in a small number of government subsidies, these co,panies have run up huge debts which they hope to repay with more government aid and by stramlining their operation. Their model for fisheries development calls for the transformation of the decentralized, small-scale labour intensive inshore fishery into a large-scale, capital intensive industry using sophicasticated technology and more modern means of organizing workers.
The author outlines two alternative approaches for the development of the fisher: (1) outright nationalization, placing ownership and control in the hands of the provincial and/or federal government; and (2) a form of nationalization which would permit local committees or co-operatives to own and larlgely control the industry, Although neither of these would solve all the problems of the fishery, he argues that either one ouwld represent a great improvement over the present siutuation and should form the basis of any government sponsored restructuring of the industry.