Cheers & Jeers
CHEERS: to a healthy snow crab resource.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans on Monday announced that the 2024 snow crab total allowable catch (TAC) will be 57,568 tonnes — an increase of 5.2 per cent from last year. That’s incredible. The recent stock assessment indicates that the exploitable biomass of snow crab is currently stable, with nearly all snow crab assessment divisions in Newfoundland and Labrador maintaining a healthy status within the precautionary approach framework. This is good news for the future of the crab fishery. But with this spring’s fishery start just around the corner — and plant workers anxious to get back to work and fishermen gearing up — there’s still the showdown to come over a price for crab. It’s too bad it has to come down to the last minute again, but hopefully, a price will be set that will be satisfactory to both sides and that there won’t be any delay in the boats hitting the water.
JEERS: to poor communication.
Fisheries workers crowded outside the Confederation Building last week, shutting down the building and delaying the provincial budget by a day. At the same time, there was no clear and transparent communications from government departments about how they planned to proceed with the budget delivery. On Thursday, when the government decided to push ahead with its budget, it cancelled the lock-in for stakeholders without notifying the media (who would typically interview these stakeholders immediately after budget delivery). Government also closed the public gallery of the House of Assembly and main lobby, citing safety concerns. However, it was still planned that the media budget lock-in would go ahead inside Confederation Building, with a last-minute schedule emailed to reporters. Major news outlets then decided against sending reporters into the building on the principle that if it wasn’t safe for others, it wasn’t safe for them. An offsite virtual technical briefing was hastily put together later in the morning for reporters, but it did not allow the usual time to preview the budget documents before questioning ministers and seeking reaction. It was a chaotic budget day(s) that could have run more smoothly if government communications were more transparent from the start.
CHEERS: to an amazing story.
In her final days alive, 89-year-old Joan Scott displayed the same passion and interest in science and history that she did during her career as a schoolteacher and university professor in Newfoundland and Labrador. Scott was also fascinated by archaeology, especially old boats and the dendrology — the scientific study of trees — behind tracing the history of wood and where it came from. When news came of the old shipwreck that washed up on the beach at Cape Ray, she was captivated by the story. She directed her family to make donations to the salvage of it. Trevor Croft of the Clean Harbours Initiative — the group leading the attempted salvage — met with Scott in the days before her death bringing her pieces of the ship’s wood. Scott had said there was much that could be learned from this wreck and that it was an important piece of history for the province. Joan Scott died on Feb. 29, and in her obituary, it was asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Gofundme campaign for rescuing the Cape Ray wreck. Her passion and determination has ignited a determination to salvage the wreck and preserve this piece of history.
JEERS: to a tale of two shoes.
When Finance Minister Siobhan Coady last week showed off her new Budget Day shoes and dress in a social media post, she received a lot of backlash. Coady no doubt did not mean to be insensitive — after all it’s a long held tradition for Canadian finance ministers to wear new shoes on budget day — but it was probably not a well-thought out step given the current struggle ordinary people face with a crippling rising cost of living. Maybe her communication team should have advised her to take a step back before putting those feet forward.
CHEERS: To turning 100!
Second World War veteran “Uncle” Johnny Pauls of Spaniard’s Bay turned 100 years old on March 16. Pauls, one of the few remaining Second Word War veterans in the province, is still an active member of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 9 in Spaniard’s Bay. Happy birthday, Mr. Pauls, and thank you for your service!