Canada and Newfoundland

by Frank G. Carpenter

“Now, the fish in this pile are for Naples, those in that for Spain, and those on the other side of the room will be sent to Brazil. It would never do to mix them, as our customers in each country have their own taste. Some like their fish hard, and some soft, and there are other differences we have to keep in mind as we sort the fish and grade them for export. The poorest fish, those you see in the corner, are for the West Indies. The people there nearly live on our fish, which will keep in their hot climate, but they can’t afford to buy the best quality.”

Arrived at the ice fields, the seal hunters armed with spiked poles scatter over the pack. They kill for their hides and fat the baby seals which every spring are born on the ice of the far north Atlantic.

Caribou are plentiful in Newfoundland. They are often seen from the train on the railroad journey across the country. The interior has thousands of lakes, one third of the island lying under water.

Newfoundland exports more than one hundred and twenty million pounds of dried cod every year. Brazil, Italy, Spain, and Portugal take about ninety million pounds, while the West Indies, Canada, Greece, and the United States absorb the balance. The fish are exported in casks each containing about two and a half quintals, or two hundred and eighty pounds.

While the shore fisheries account for most of the annual Newfoundland catch, there are two other ways of taking cod. The first is the “bank fishery,” in which schooners go off to the Grand Banks where they put out men in small boats to fish with hook and line until a shipload is caught. The fish are cleaned and salted on board, but are dried on shore. The crews of the schooners usually share in the catch, as in our own Gloucester fishing fleets. The third kind is the Labrador fishery. Sometimes as many as nine hundred schooners will spend the summer on the Labrador coast, fishing off shore, and drying the catches on the beach. Whole families take part in this annual migration. Labrador fish do not, however, bring as good a price as Banks or offshore fish.

The prosperity of the Newfoundlanders depends every year on the price of cod. This may range from three dollars a quintal to the record prices of fourteen and fifteen dollars during the World War. Just now the price is depressed, and Newfoundland is feeling competition from the Norwegians, who are underselling them in the western European and Mediterranean markets. Consequently, many Newfoundlanders, especially the young people, are emigrating to the United States. Some of the men go to New England and engage in the Massachusetts fisheries. Others ship on merchant vessels, while the girls are attracted by high wages paid in our stores, offices, and factories.

I have made some inquiries about the earnings of the Newfoundland fisherman, and find his net cash income amounts to but three or four hundred dollars a year. While he builds his own boat, he has to buy his engine, gasoline, and oil. He must buy twine and pitch for his nets, cord and hooks for his baited lines, and salt for pickling. A fisherman usually figures on making enough from the cod livers and their oil to pay his salt bill. The bones and entrails and also the livers after the oil has been removed are used as fertilizer.

The fisherman usually has no other source of income than his catch, and during the winter he does little except prepare for the next season. He goes in debt to the merchant who furnishes his outfit and the supplies for his family. His catch for the year may or may not bring as much as the amount he owes, but he must deliver it, at the current price, to the firm that gave him credit. This system accounts for the big stores in St. John’s, some of which have made a great deal of money. The merchants render a real service in financing the fishermen, whom they carry through the lean years, but there are those who believe the credit system has outlived its usefulness.