Small boats sit on a slipway in the harbour at Bauline on a sunny but cool fall afternoon in this file photo.Article contentI grew up in the time when you could fish anything in the ocean without having to produce a licence. No one done any damage to the stocks and everyone could get a fish to eat when they wanted.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentThen we entered Confederation and things changed – and not for the better in my opinion – but everyone could still get a fish to eat.Article contentArticle contentThen came the moratorium on northern cod. By that time salmon, cod, turbot, caplin were all gone and all because it wasn’t managed right. We know the reason but no one seems to care.Article contentArticle contentFor years we were not allowed to get a cod to eat.Article contentA few years ago, the late James Morgan who was a former fisheries minister and a good friend of mine, started an organization called Rural Rights and Boat Owners Association and asked me to be a vice president.Article contentI accepted. Jim, myself and Stew Pearce and others started lobbying for a food fishery. We even did a protest fishery where we went on the water fished in a closed season.Article contentNeedless to say, I caught two small cod which I retained in front of the fisheries officers who charged me and I ended up in court where I was fined. That is what I set out to do for the publicity.Article contentI am glad to report that we have had a food fishery ever since all because we had the guts to protest and thanks to my friend Loyola Hearn who was fisheries minister in Ottawa.Article contentBut we never got it right because we are still told when we can fish and for how much.Article contentArticle contentI have talked to a lot of people over the years who have said to me that if we were allowed to fish every day, we would not catch any more fish. We would go out to get a meal when we like, and if the weather was good later in the fall we would get our winter fish.Article contentThe food fishery to me was as much of a recreation activity as catching a cod. Many of us are retired and loves a day on the water. There is nothing like it.Article contentMany-the-times my cousins from Pasadena would come and visit for a few days. We’d go out in boat and when we were allowed to catch a cod we would go ashore and get out the pot. A few spuds and a cod in the pot was pure heaven.Article contentWhile I haven’t caught a cod for a while (too old), I can only dream about it but I would want my children and grandchildren to enjoy the privileges that I’ve had.Article contentTo the powers that be with the large ocean around our Island and up the Labrador coast, how much damage can be done with a single line over the side of a small boat?Article contentWe were not the cause of the problem in the ocean, but we are the ones who are being punished. Please give us back our dignity and our way of life.Article content(Ret.) Capt. Wilfred Bartlett, C.B.S. Email: wilfbartlett@hotmail.comArticle content
LETTER: Restore our dignity with a proper food fishery
