In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

580 The Canadian Historical Review From Fishermen to Fish: The Evolution of Canadian Fishery Policy. RAYMOND B. BLAKE. Toronto: Irwin Publishing 2000. Pp. xvi, 176. $19.95 Raymond Blake quite rightly argues that historical perspectives are necessary for understanding why Canada's once-rich fisheries have been devastated in recent years. This book, part ofthe Contemporary Affairs Series, is based mostly on secondary sources and aims to provide a general introduction to Canadian fisheries policies and to shed light on the causes ofthe crises afflicting both Atlantic and Pacific coast fisheries in the 1990s. His main argument is that Canadian fisheries management has been thwarted by politics, which he believes permitted too many people to remain in the fishery. He is also highly critical of the voracious fishing by international fishing vessels over the past few decades. The first chapter tells the history ofthe European fishery offthe coast of Newfoundland beginning in the late fifteenth century, then recounts the role offisheries in international relations from the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries. It is followed by a chapter on new technologies, specifically otter trawlers, and factory freezer trawlers which appeared in the northwest Atlantic in the mid-twentieth century. Chapter 3 looks at attempts in the 1950s to introduce a fisheries program in Newfoundland which would have reduced the numbers of small-scale fishers. In the next chapter, the author studies international fishing regulatory bodies in the northwest Atlantic in the twentieth century and the failure of the Canadian government to curtail European fishing. Chapter 5focuses on the 'Turbot War,' federal fisheries minister Brian Tobin's public relations campaign against Spanish vessels fishing outside the 200-mile fishing limit in 1995ยท The author then introduces British Columbia to the story, looking at conflicts between Canada and the United States over access to Pacific coast salmon stocks in the mid-199os. The book concludes with a chapter on the moratorium on commercial cod fishing in Newfoundland in the 1990s and the government assistance programs created for displaced fishers and plant workers. While certainly an ambitious project, the book s4ffers from trying to cover too much material, too large a geographic area, and too long a time frame to address adequately the issues presented in the introduction. As well, the book is heavily weighted towards discussions of Newfoundland , with little mention of Canada's other ocean fisheries. The book's strength is its sections on international relations in the northwest Atlantic fisheries, with four ofthe seven chapters dealing with that topic. (Indeed, this book might have been more manageable had it focused Book Reviews 581 exclusively on international relations.) With so much attention paid to international issues, there is little room for more detailed discussions of domestic fisheries policies and management practices. The only policies that are discussed to any degree are those affecting Newfoundland and, even there, the details are scant. Without more background, it is difficult to accept the author's assertion that the problem of Newfoundland's fishery is that there were 'too many fishermen catching too few fish.' Such an assessment, without a fuller discussion ofthe conditions in the various fisheries, the actual policies and how they were implemented, the allocation ofresources among the different sectors, gear types and access to technology, seems rather trite. Indeed, any study offisheries policies and management in Canada would need to delve into a larger range of issues, including the history of licence limitation, unemployment insurance, gender issues, conflicts among different vessel and gear types, conflicts between different regions (and ethnic groups) over resources , ecological change and habitat destruction, and access and property rights, to name only the most obvious. Aboriginal issues, mentioned only in passing in this book, are particularly critical in Canadian fisheries and deserve more attention. The literature on these areas has grown considerably in the past fifteen years, but is not reflected in Blake's work. Examining the history of Canada's fisheries is a worthwhile project, and Blake does well to highlight the significance ofmarine resources in international relations. The overly broad scope of this book, however, limits its usefulness as an introduction to fisheries issues. MIRIAM WRIGHT University ofBritish Columbia Making Ontario: Agricultural Colonization and Landscape...

pdf

Share