Promising to “get tough” with the fishery is a surefire way to lose votes in Newfoundland and Labrador. Which is probably why Premier Kathy Dunderdale waited until the ballots were safely counted in October’s provincial election before announcing that her government would soon make some “hard decisions” about the struggling fish-processing sector.

Just what this means is far from clear. However, it is generally accepted that this kind of language means the government intends to limit fish-processing licences, leading to plant closures and job losses.

The person who will supposedly lead the cull is Darin King, a blunt-talking former school-board executive who has served in cabinet in the education and labour portfolios. King hails from the fishing community of Grand Bank, so he presumably can tell a cod from a haddock.

But the pantheon of failed fisheries ministers — provincial and federal — from this province is long and distinguished; politicians such as John Crosbie, Brian Tobin, and John Efford all pledged to fix the fishery once and for all. None has succeeded. Today, about 100 processing plants dot the province’s coastline, providing seasonal jobs for 10,000-plus workers.

It is widely accepted, even among those who work in the fishery, that many workers would need to find alternative ways of making a living if their jobs were not supplemented by the federal employment insurance program. Most barely earn above the minimum wage of $10 an hour, and the workforce is aging as young people leave for better jobs elsewhere.

The problem faced by governments — particularly, the province, which issues processing licences — is that while there is wide agreement that plants must be phased out, everybody in a town with a plant believes their own facility is economically feasible.

Experience has proven that when a community loses its fish-processing licence, residents will rent school buses and travel en masse to demonstrate in front of the legislature in St. John’s. This may be why King’s predecessor, Clyde Jackman, rejected recommendations this past February by the Fishing Industry Memorandum of Understanding’s steering committee. The MOU’s study by representatives from industry, labour and the provincial government called for major reductions in processing capacity, as well as further cuts to fishing fleets.

“The findings in report represent a thorough analysis of proposals from industry stakeholders, including members of the MOU steering committee,” says committee chair Tom Clift. “The report suggests that in order to fully restructure the province’s fishing industry in a timely and orderly fashion, the industry may have to continue through a rationalization phase before it can contemplate the kind of restructuring that may be required to be truly competitive in the global seafood marketplace.”

While many observers consider the report to be fair, Jackman was in pre-election mode and quickly rejected the report’s conclusions. With this, he relegated it to the same dark dungeon containing previous studies that have called for a leaner fishing industry.

Whether King will revisit the MOU report is an open question. However, now may be the time to take tough measures. Thousands of people who depend on the fishery are waiting to see what will happen next.  IE