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1+1 Canada
A Licence for Survival: Exploring Structure, Agency, and Power within Newfoundland and Labrador's Shellfish Processing Industry
Darryl Maddigan ©
A thesis submitted to the
School of Graduate Studies
in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
Department of Sociology Memorial University ofNewfoundland St. John's, Newfoundland
August 2009 ABSTRACT
Following the 1992 cod moratorium, many fishing dependent communities on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula were forced to switch prey species in an attempt to achieve some measure of economic and social recovery. Many turned to harvesting shellfish, however, the shellfish industry provided fewer employment opportunities than the ground fishery, and subsequently, there was an increased demand for licences to process the newly targeted species. This thesis utilizes a case study to examine the process through which crab licences are allocated in Newfoundland and Labrador. More specifically, I conduct a sociological inquiry into how the licencing system operates by exploring the complex interplay between structure, agency, and power within the relationships ofthe system's three major players; communities, processing firms, and the provincial government. Utilizing an approach to structure, agency, and power similar to that ofAnthony Giddens, Peter Berger, and Michel Foucault, as well as studies into small scale fishery survival, I propose a power hierarchy among the major social actors with communities at the bottom and the provincial government at the top. Position in the hierarchy is determined by the constraining and enabling effects of the social structure as well as each group's ability to access the social and cultural resources inherent to membership in their particular group. Additionally, I assert that the inability of communities to improve upon their position in the hierarchy is due in part to the persistence of clientelistic tendencies within the fishing industry.
ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank all of those who participated in this research. Their honesty, openness, and knowledge were crucial to meeting this project's research goals and in completing this thesis. For their personal and professional guidance, as well as their patience and support, I thank my supervisors Dr. Larry Felt and Dr. Peter Sinclair. I am extremely grateful for their help as well as the knowledge they have passed on to me throughout my academic career. For their academic and financial support, I would like to thank Memorial's School of Graduate Studies, the Department of Sociology, The Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER), The Interdisciplinary Committee on Ethics in Human Research (ICEHR), and The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Finally, a special thanks to my family and friends who provided the intangible resources only they could provide. Your faith and encouragement was greatly appreciated and will not be forgotten. Thank you all.
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract ii
Acknowledgements iii List of Figures ?
List of Tables vi
Acronyms and Abbreviations vii List of Appendices viii Chapter 1 : Introduction 1 Chapter 2 : Review of Literature 1 1 Chapter 3: Methodology 33 Chapter 4: Historical Context 41 Chapter 5 : Structure, Agency and Power within the Licencing System 5 1 5.1 Literature Summary 52 5.2 The Licencing System Power Hierarchy 54 5.3 Community Members and Collectives 58 5.4 Processing Firms 71 5.5 The Provincial Government 85
5.6 Recent Developments in the Processing Industry 98 Chapter 6: Conclusion 122
References 144
Appendix I: Research Information Sheet 149 Appendix II: Research Participant Consent Form 150
iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Map Depicting Newfoundland's Economic Fishing Zones
Figure 1.2: Shellfish and Cod Landings 1991-2001 Figure 3.1 : Map Depicting Newfoundland's Southeast Avalon Peninsula Figure 3.2: Map Depicting Specific Area of Study Figure 4.1: Map Depicting 17th Century English Shore ofNewfoundland
? LIST OF TABLES
Table 5.1 : 2007 Estimated Crab Processing Distribution for the Long Shore 75
Vl ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
DFO Department of Fisheries and Oceans
EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone
TAGS The Atlantic Groundfish Strategy
ASP Association of Seafood Producers
FFAW Fish, Food and Allied Workers FPLB Fish Processing Licencing Board LBS Licencing Board Secretariat MHA Member of the House of Assembly
EI Employment Insurance RSPF Revised Seafood Processing Framework
RMS Raw Material Sharing
vu LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix I: Research Information Sheet 149 Appendix II: Research Participant Consent Form 1 50
Vili CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
Many fishing dependent communities in Newfoundland and Labrador experienced the realities of resource collapse in 1992 when the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) announced a moratorium on harvesting northern cod (Gadus morhua), specifically in the stock area 2J3KL (Figure 1.1) of Canada's 200 mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). It was initially believed that a two year moratorium would allow for the significantly diminished stocks to recover to a degree that would permit the resumption ofthe inshore fishery by the spring of 1994. However, stocks did not recover to the extent anticipated by government and resumption of the cod fishery to any significant extent has not yet occurred to this day. Further complicating the crisis was a historical lack of diversification with respect to species harvested. For centuries, the first and only choice ofNewfoundland fish harvesters had been northern cod. Without a tradition of species diversification, many communities in the province suffered economic devastation through the loss oftheir primary and often only means of subsistence. Thirteen years later, a detailed community rev