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HALIFAX -- Federal mismanagement of the historic Newfoundland and Labrador fishery has nearly wiped out several major fish stocks and threatens some still healthy species that support many coastal communities, the province says.
In a discussion paper released yesterday, the province says the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has "failed miserably" to conserve fish.
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Roger Grimes plans to use the document in a cross-Canada campaign to gain support for a joint federal-provincial board to regulate the province's fishery.
The paper was released a few hours after Fisheries and Oceans Minister Robert Thibault announced that the shrimp catch off northern Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec for 2003 will be increased by 29 per cent to 152,102 tonnes.
Last year, northern shrimp landings were worth $245-million.
Mr. Thibault said the increase in shrimp quota will benefit many small-boat fishermen who were forced off the water five weeks ago when Ottawa banned cod fishing off the northern and western parts of the province to save depleted stocks.
"This is one of the best news stories in the Atlantic Canada fishery," Mr. Thibault said, adding that the shrimp appear to be abundant and the stock won't be harmed by increased fishing.
Fishermen launched widespread protests across rural Newfoundland and Labrador over the cod-fishing ban, saying that the cod can support a small-scale fishery that could also provide valuable scientific information about the fish.
Mr. Grimes responded to the anger by reviving the province's long-standing demand that it be allowed to participate in decision-making about the fishery.
The Premier acknowledged in an interview yesterday that the federal government has shown little interest in sharing jurisdiction over the ocean.
But he noted that all three Liberal leadership candidates have stated they favour some kind of joint management of the fishery.
Mr. Grimes said the discussion paper is a comprehensive document that shows how the federal government could give the board power to set fishing quotas, and in return the province would yield some of its jurisdiction over processing plants.
"We're hoping they [the federal government] see this as a serious exercise.
"We're not about to be dismissed and told that they don't want to talk about it," Mr. Grimes said. "We hope that we don't have to argue the legal case. There appears to be a moral responsibility if one of the partners in Canada is into a very serious exercise and wants to start negotiations."
He said that he would visit several other provinces to discuss the proposal.
He will address the Halifax Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.
The paper deals with a long list of fish stocks, including northern cod, flounder and redfish, that the province says have been depleted because DFO failed to control fishing efforts and didn't listen to warnings to reduce catches made by some provincial politicians, scientists and fishermen.
The discussion paper calls for a joint management board, made up of representatives of the province and Ottawa, to set catch limits and determine conservation practices for the fishery around the province.
The paper says that landings of shellfish such as crab and shrimp have grown dramatically since widespread bans on cod fishing were put in place in the early 1990s.
But many fishermen fear that these fisheries, as well as recovering cod and flounder stocks, are in danger.
"The fear remains that federal mismanagement could lead to collapse, wiping out the new industry we have fought to build since the groundfish moratoria of the early 1990s," the paper states.
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