The Greatest Hunt in the World Captain Abram Kean was the most successful seal hunter in Newfoundland history. In 1922, American writer and explorer George Allan England traveled with Kean aboard his sealing ship, the  Terra Nova , publishing a book of his account two years later. Vikings of the Ice  (the title was later changed to  The Greatest Hunt in the World)  is the only eye-witness account ever written of the daily life aboard a wooden-wall, or sealing vessel. On signing on “The hardships some of these men suffer even before they reach St. John’s and ‘sign on’ would kill the average American. For days before the sailing of the fleet, hundreds of them pile into St. John’s. Some walk all the way from home and some travel on the partly snowed-in, irregular streak of rust that Newfoundland calls a railroad. Many of them walk forty or fifty miles to reach even this rust, braving blizzards that scourge and flay. They carry their pitiably meager e...

HEADLINE :  Snip, snip By Ryan Cleary The Fighting Newfoundlander Published in The Independent newspaper,  Jan. 25, 2008   I already miss John Crosbie, and he hasn’t even had his “knockers” removed yet. That’s his word, not mine. I can’t imagine Crosbie without the sizeable knockers he walks around with.   A mortal Newfoundlander would have to use a wheelbarrow.   I can tell you this: he wouldn’t have had much of a career without his knockers.   He definitely wouldn’t have been able to pour Sheila Copps that shot of tequila before he asked her to lay own and love him again. But then the problem with feminists is that they have no sense of humour. (Crosbie’s words again, not mine).   They don’t know when to just “quiet down, baby.” I come today not to bury Crosbie, but to indirectly praise him, and give “the old curmudgeon,” which is what he called his one-time column in the pages of this newspaper, a coupl...

I posted the following to Facebook on Sunday, Jan. 28th, in response to a controversial post two days previous.  Good day NL, all ships at sea, and Southern Shore fisherman Keith Hawkins , who’s been brutalized on social media in recent days, a pounding he didn’t expect nor deserve.  I have apologized to Keith personally — what happened is my fault — an apology he’s been good enough to accept, but it’s important to provide clarity on why I’m sorry. ••• This past Thursday morning (Jan. 25th), officials with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) held a meeting in Ferryland for local inshore harvesters.  It was the 16th in a series of 20 meetings DFO has organized around the province to hear directly from harvesters, which hasn’t happened in a generation. Indeed, during the Ferryland meeting an older fisherman made it a point to say he’s been fishing since 1973 (45 years), and it was the first time DFO has held direct, face-to-face consultation....

Samantha Walsh, a 13-year-old, Grade 8 student from Fleur de Lys on the Baie Verte Peninsula, disappeared one Sunday evening when walking home from her Grandmother's house, and I traveled to the community to research her story. The following feature article was published in The Telegram in February 2000. ••• "Sam, who had stripped off her ski pants when she got to her grandmother’s house, didn’t bother to put them on for the three-minute walk to her house. She went home wearing her coat and hat and long johns covered by flannel pajama pants, pink with black and white lambs, bought the day before at Value Village. But Sam never made it home. 'Loves you, Mom,' were her last words to her mother." ••• Samantha’s story By Ryan Cleary, The Telegram FLEUR DE LYS — The voice is that of a child, rising with a soft and sweet delivery from a room of living hell. It’s a haunting sound, the words of  Salt Water Joys , sung by a very talented and pretty littl...

Good morning NL, all ships at sea, and inshore fish harvesters far and wide. Just so you know, the FFAW-Unifor’s sole right as your union is to negotiate the price of fish, and administer the collective agreement. That’s it. Period. End of FFAW story.  When it comes to negotiating fish quotas with Ottawa or compensation packages with Nalcor, the FFAW-Unifor needs your permission. Case in point, the recent Supreme Court of NL case that found the FFAW-Unifor deceived scallop fishermen in the Strait of Belle Isle.  The union had to get harvesters to sign consent forms to negotiate with Nalcor over compensation for the power line laid across the Strait, and its impact on scallop fishing in the decades to come. The problem was the FFAW-Unifor only got the consent forms signed AFTER the union had negotiated a deal, and a deal that most scallop fishermen didn’t want. ••• What makes this point relevant is a letter the FFAW-Unifor has written to the Labour Relations Board ...

Former federal Fisheries minister James McGrath says inshore fishery only thing that can save outports The following story was published in the Oct. 31st, 2004 edition of the now-defunct Independent newspaper, as part of a six-part cost-benefit analysis of Confederation (Part 3, fisheries). Oct. 31st, 2004 By Stephanie Porter The Independent When James McGrath first became Fisheries minister for Canada in 1979, one of his middle managers — who happened to be a Newfoundlander — paid him a visit, with one piece of advice to offer. “He said, ‘When you receive recommendations for total allowable catches, you should shave them by 25 per cent,’” McGrath says. “That’s how inexact the science is.” One of the first decisions McGrath had to make as minister was whether to reopen the Gulf fishery to trawlers. Although it was unpopular at the time, he took the 25-per-cent-less advice he was given. Later, he maintains, it was recognized he did the right thing.  ...