'SALTWATER TRADITIONS'

Story ID:	936
Written by:	Bonnie Jarvis-Lowe
Organization:	Retired RN/Freelance Writer and Photographer
Story type:	Story
Location:	Trinity Bay Newfoundland, Canada
Year:	2006
Person:	Author and the Fishery

‘SALTWATER TRADITIONS'

I felt I had received a gift from the Universe the day our five weeks of fishery was announced for this summer of 2006! Now we could go out in the bay and catch codfish for five weeks this summer. My heart jumped as I remembered landing the thirty-four pound codfish during the last food fishery. All the protesting, the lobbying, and letter writing, all the emotion and tears was worth getting this privilege. We are finally going fishing!

My friends share my exhilaration, and we are thrilled that we have this five weeks of time, wishing it could be longer, but thankful for this gift for now. We will spend days fishing the Northern Cod, the same way our ancestors fished since 1497 when John Cabot found the ocean teaming with codfish that weighed up to two or three hundred pounds. The ‘Ryan Premises’ in Bonavista, NL, has the synthetic codfish of that size on display, and they are enormous.

Later that week during a discussion on the fishery, a remark made by someone struck like a blow to my solar plexis, a blow that then punctured my heart, bounced off my brain stem and took control of my tongue completely.

“What’s the big deal?”, he asked, “Why not have a few people fishing and have them sell the fish at the wharf. Darn more sensible thing to do as far as I’m concerned!”

Well, needless to say, for someone who loves to fish, who loves her Newfoundland and Labrador heritage, and wants it preserved, that statement provoked a marathon rant. Thinking back, it was one of my better raves, and every bit as favorable as some of our newspaper columnists, or talk-show hosts.

So I thought, “Move over boys, it’s my rant time now!”

I fixed my stare on the person who, by now, was sorry the statement was ever expressed, and asked “Are you a Newfoundlander?”

Under my direct gaze he answered that he indeed was an Islander, born and raised in a fishing community on ‘THE ROCK’, as our tenth province of Canada is affectionately known. At that point I felt the rant coming that would address the comment made and I knew that once I got started, I would not stop until I totally ran out of verbal energy. That could be a lengthy time for me.

“You say you are a Newfoundlander, I’m surprised you would admit to such a thing!”, I began.

His face turned red, and got redder as my rant continued. I had to address this and nothing short of an invasion of locusts could stop me. It went something like this if I recall through the haze of disbelief I was experiencing:

“It’s not just about the fish-there is much more to it than that. The whole procedure of preparing for a day in the boat out on the fishing grounds of Trinity Bay, NL, following the tradition of our forefathers is part of the bigger picture. I know we can buy fish, but it is not the same! We are genetically programmed to gather food, put fish on the table and feed our families.

Determining our boat is ready and in good running order, gathering a friend or two and heading out into the waters of Smith Sound, is an activity as old as our province. The whole routine, such as going ashore for a meal and a boil up, then back to catching the cod, praising those who have success, cleaning a codfish and feeling it’s freezing cold belly, throwing the grapnel anchor over the side when we hit a good fishing area, our conversation and laughter skipping and dancing over the waters of the bay, are all part of what it’s all about. It is a way of life that we are working hard to protect. You don’t feel we have the right to catch fish hey? Well, we are going to catch fish, we are on the honor system that we will catch just fifteen fish per day for each boat, and that is what we will do! I bet you’ll eat the codfish though won’t you? Most of you ‘nay-sayers’ will enjoy the fish while you nod your heads at us.

In 1939 when Winston Churchill put out a call for ‘the best ‘small boatmen’ in the world, the ‘Newfoundlanders’!’ he knew what he was talking about, and you should know your heritage better, you should understand that it is not just about fish, it is about a way of life that is in danger of extinction.

The pleasing reflections of sky and water, the sound of other boats as they move about just as we do, while the eagles soar across the carpet of blue sky, the sun hot on the back of our necks, the brightly colored life vests, the sea gulls that arrive when fish are cleaned and squawk and fight over the discarded offal, the closeness and friendships that flourish as we fish our way through a summer day, are all as important as the priceless fish that we catch.

Most of the time we stay out on the bay until the evening twilight tells us it is time to head for home. The sparkling green phosphorus in the water glitters like emeralds, the sunsets are spectacular, the stars bright and clear, and we are quiet as we remember the Newfoundland of bygone days when the fishery was the mainstay of our coastal communities, the days when everyone helped their neighbor, and life was really a slower dance.

What’s the ‘big deal’ you ask?

The big deal is about the salt spray on our faces, the sun reflecting off the water, the rope that ties the boat to the wharf half-hitched around her bow, the sounds and sights of the sea, the scurrying to get warm clothes on as a sea breeze can be seen coming up the bay, the excitement when a cod is caught and we weigh it with our handheld weigh scale, and the sound of the fire as it crackles and sizzles as the flat-bottomed Newfoundland kettle boils for our lunch time on shore. When our fishing is done and we head for our wharf, the lights of our small community look like a beautiful necklace wrapped around the shoreline.

We unload the boat, take the fish home to fillet, and we know that we have carried on a tradition that is as old as Newfoundland itself. THAT IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT!!”

That, my friends, was my ‘rant’! Whether it was understood by those I addressed is questionable, but I sure as heck felt better!

Yes, it is divine to have the fish frozen to enjoy during the winter, but it is equally as important to know that this is our culture, our heritage and the way of our people for many generations, and now we are showing the young a ‘reality show’ of what life was like in outport Newfoundland and Labrador.

To see other maritimers fishing all summer long while we cannot fish a cod for fear of legal implications, brings out the best and the worst in Newfoundlanders. To lose our heritage that was earned by men with extraordinary stamina, who faced the sea without fear, who fished for a living and to feed their families, is a travesty. To honor those ‘boatmen’ that Winston Churchill thought so highly of that he requested they be called to duty, knowing they could and would do the job, is something we have to keep close to our hearts.

The right to engage in these activities is still ours, even if for a short time. The few fish that will be caught by a five-week fishery are nothing compared to what a foreign trawler is doing to our offshore resources. We are angry, we are hurt, and we are disgusted enough to lobby again and again for the right to fish. The way of life established for us by our ancestors is under attack and we will fight to keep it! It is not the way of the Newfoundlander to sit idly by and let this travesty and destruction of our way of life go uncontested.

Fishing is associated with Newfoundland the world over. It is what we are known for, it is why Newfoundland was settled, and it is what we will continue to fight for because we want to protect our culture. It is not for sale! It is ours to keep, and keep it we will.

Wake up Canada! One of your provinces is bruised and hurt, so badly hurt that we have to protest again and again for what is justly ours. You are our parent, take care of our resources, take care of us, and meanwhile allow us to fish and carry on the tradition of our early settlers, and a way of life in rural Newfoundland and Labrador that is in danger of being lost.

Listen to your people Canada, because we are one of your provinces, and we stand on guard for thee.

Will you stand on guard for us?

My name is Bonnie Lowe and I AM A CANADIAN!