The Impact of European Fishery on the Historical Geography of Newfound Land - Essay Example

of Learning: THE IMPACT OF EUROPEAN FISHERY ON THE HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF NEW FOUND LAND Introduction Fishery has been the most dominant activity in Newfoundland history since the colonization period. The British were the first to develop interest in the area after discovering the Cabot voyage following the large codfish amounts in the area. Fishery exploitation by the British checked on its dependence on the land as it was becoming difficult for them. The French were the next to develop interest in the fishery value associated with Newfoundland, and from this point, the European fishery became an important activity on the Island in the 18th century. American colonies also moved in and resolved on sharing the fishery with France, and after the cross-island railroad was built in the 1800’s, fishing had become the only industry in Newfoundland. Fishery impacted the island in many ways: economically, geographically, on the population, industry sector, transport and communication as well as its education sector during this historical time. The geography and ecosystem of Newfoundland has been credited to be a major contributor in the prosperity of fishery. Its climatic conditions had great impact on the marine ecosystem, especially around its central Grand Bank in comparison to other areas, such as the northeast Atlantic. The southward extension of the Island is covered with the Labrador currents that are responsible for the transportation of cold water in the southward direction from the Hudson Bay, Davis Strait and the Canadian Archipelago. The cold water offer conducive fishery conditions in these areas. The median extents southerly of the sea ice towards the Grand bank with the temperatures at the water bottom falling bellow 0 degrees Celsius for most of the period. The cold conditions that extent southerly are implicated by the frequent polar cod presence along the Newfoundland coast. The fishery activity in the Newfoundland became so dominant that it impacted the geographical considitions of the Island in many adverse ways. This paper is going to look at how European fishery impacted the ecosystem, population and demography and climate of Newfoundland. Road Map 1. Impact on Ecosystem 2. Impact on Climate 3. Population and Demography 4. Conclusion Impact on Ecosystem Before the European interest in the Island, the ecosystem of Canada in general was characterized by very few species, and this was the case at Newfoundland. Among these few species, very few of them were in high abundance. The most dominant fish species included capelin and lance mostly found in the area around the Grand Bank plateau and the polar cod around the north (Lear 50). Herring species was only found in the adjacent waters or in some cases in the bays. The named species fed mostly on crustaceans and calanoid copepods. The fishery activities led to the discovery of more species that later became dominant and important in the Island. Such species include: Greenland halibut, Atlantic code and American plaice. Northern shrimp and snow crab were also later discovered and dominated benthic crustaceans (Lear 62). These species were not enough, considering fishery had turn out to be the main activity on the Island. This called for the need for species in the fishery changing the historical ecosystem of the area. The main introductions included hooded seals and harp seals that come from the north, but this was seasonal. The other species to be introduced were the whales that came into the Island from the south. This species was also seasonal. The most important species that were not naturally found in the Island include minke, humpback, pilot whales, fin, sei and sperm (NAFO 333). In addition to the fish species, there were other immigrants that came to the Island following the fishery activity, and they include: squid with short fins, bluefin tuna, mackerel and birds like sooty shearwater and greater shear water (NAFO 333). Overfishing was observed to have great impact on the ecosystem of the Island. Some species faced risk of getting extinct as they were the ones mostly targeted. The programs put in place like measures to increase the breeding of particular fish species increased their numbers as well as introduced new species that were not historically found in the Island (Cell 57). Increased fishing activities also led to fisheries being given the priority through destroying other ecosystems. This included the clearing of vegetation to pave away for more space for docking and neglected the fish species that were on demand. Impact on Climate Normally, climatic changes are regarded as being responsible for the changes in fishing patterns and ecosystem. In the same case, the fishery activities in Newfoundland impacted the climatic conditions of the area. The changes in ground fish stock were in turn affected by the population redistribution and recruitment pattern changes. The greenhouse gas that was emitted following the fishery activities in the Island led to climatic conditions that were drier and warmer in the Atlantic region (Cell 61). These changes are believed to be due to a reduction in the sustainable harvest in general and a reduction in fresh water discharge due to increased fishery activities thus resulting in estuarine population as well as a reduction in the productivity of the ecosystem. Increased activities at the Island resulted in the development of eco-climate resulting in reduced snow cover due to warmer conditions. Shrinkage ice cover allowed for more nutrients to be recycled thus increased harvest. Fisheries also lead to changes in the Newfoundland oceanography due to increased fishing activities resulting to changes in the direction of wind, the ocean currents and precipitation. The snow cover in the Arctic retreated due to increased population in the Island. The changes in fish stocks and fishery in eastern Newfoundland also resulted in noticeable changes in some of the oceanic variables. This was witnessed in the air temperatures on the surface as areas around central North Atlantic experienced cooler temperatures, and the Newfoundland and Labrador become significantly warmer while the high Arctic become cooler. Barents Seas and Norwegian experienced increased temperatures. European fishery in the Island also resulted in natural variability in that particular region to be greater than the variability witnessed in the global mean. The shelf water off Newfoundland experienced a warming trend that was accompanied by large annual variables with the amplitude levels constantly increasing (Cadigan 89). Extreme events related to such variability can be influential in the long term trend of the region. This was observed as the Northeast Newfoundland Shelf temperatures changed relative to the changes in global temperature. Population and Demography As the fishing activities continued to intensify in the area, it came to a point around 1805 when population of the residents outnumbered the visitors. Before this time, the fishing activities had been dominated by visitors with the residents having very little contribution. By 1805, the resident’s population had increased remarkably making the ratio of the residence to visitors to be five to one. The keepers of the bye-boat had left the fishery by then (Cadigan 78). The Bank ships were no longer making steady profits hence it was almost impossible for the migratory fishery to continue staying on the Island. The increased population of the residents rendered fishery unnecessary and the economic and social circumstances made the activity uneconomical. The number of men found on the fishery’s onshore increased. There was also a rise in the landings, and this was witnessed for a while. This did not last for long as following frequent war on the Island. The yields significantly reduced the climax of it being catch failures. After the war, fishermen from Newfoundland took control of the fishing areas that had been left behind by the French during the war. The men involved as well as the ships they used in the fishery activity after the war were the same ones that had initially been engaged in spring seal fishery. The North Shore fishery then grew into the Labrador fishery following the movement of vessels on the Labrador coast in an effort to secure more catch as the fisheries along the North Shire became poor with time (Treble 1). By 1820’s, the fishery at Labrador had been firmly established. It was made up of two fisheries types to add on the already existing resident fishery. This attracted migratory fishermen from the Newfoundland Island especially during the peak as the stationery fishery activities were stationed along the Labrador southern coast keeping away from Cape Harrison (Treble 1). This increased the population at Newfoundland as it consisted of both the stationery fishery and migratory fisherman. The floaters on the other hand moved their fishery extending towards the north even beyond the stationery to the point that they started fishing around Cape Chidley. The Fishery at Labrador during peak time and seal fishery conjunction offered Conception Bay in the region around St. John and a little bit in the Trinity Bay (NAFO 333). This extended to the north resulting in greater populations concentration. Conclusion The ecosystem, population and climate off the Canada coast were greatly affected by European fishery especially in Newfoundland. The ecosystem was completely changed with the natural species number changing while new species found their way to the Island. Before the fishery, the dominant denersal species in Newfoundland were Greenland cod and American plaice. The dominant invertebrates were snow crabs and Shrimp and northern shrimp while the dominant predators were whales and harp seals. The ecosystem underwent major changes especially in the 1980’s. Now that most of the demersal fish like the Atlantic code and other species that were not preferred for commercial fishing declined to levels that were very low. Contrary to this, northern shrimp and snow crab population surged during this period, and they formed the most important commodities in fisheries. The population of Harp seals also increased while the capelin were observed to reduce especially along the offshore but increased inshore. As the climate affected the recovery of some species such as cod, climate itself was affected by overfishing. Increased fishing activities led to the development of eco-climate in the region changing the initial climatic conditions in the region. The oceanography was greatly transformed changing the weather conditions that are determined by the shape of the landscape including the direction of wind, ocean currents, altitude, humidity and type of precipitation. Fishery also impacted the natural variability of the Island in relation to climate making it greater in comparison with the global mean. Newfoundland population was also greatly affected by fishery as the number of visitors and the local fishermen kept on fluctuating. In the early 80’s, the Island had been dominated by visitors from Britain, America and France. The locals had less interest in the fishery activities while the visitors competed with each other for the available resources. When the war among the visitors continued, most of the visitors left leaving the Island for the locals who took on the fishery developing more interest in the activity thus increasing in numbers. The bays, ports and region known for high catch were densely populated. Works Cited Cadigan, Sean. Hope and Deception in conception Bay. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1995. Print Cell, Gillian. English Enterprise in Newfoundland. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1995. Print. “France.” Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador. Vol.1-5, 1981-1992. Print. Lear, White. History of fisheries in the Northwest Atlantic: 500-years perspective. Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science, 23 (1999): 41-73. Print. M. A. Treble. Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Pers.com, 2003. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. NAFO. Scientific Council Report, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization, June 2001. Web. 20 Nov. 2012.     Read More

 

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