The future is in our past -
As regular as clockwork around the middle of April the fishery, which has been in hibernation during the long winter months, awakens. It begins to stir with the Seal Hunt and is fully awake with controversy over the prices of lobster, crab and shrimp.
This is a ritual. We expect it and, for the most part, take it in stride. What would the East Coast Spring be without the likes of Brigitte Bardot, Paul McCartney and his long forgotten ex-wife pressing their holier-than-thou opinions on us mere mortals in the sticks? What would Spring be like without fishermen and processors jockeying for position over prices?
Do you get the feeling that this year something has changed? The boy has cried, "wolf" for years and it was always a false alarm. Has the wolf finally arrived to devour us all? Metaphorically speaking, of course, because the poor wolves are more afraid of us than we are of them.
The European Union has voted to stop the importation of seal pelts. That coupled with a downturn in the fur industry because of the economy doesn't bode well for the Seal Hunt. Is this the last nail in the coffin? Is this the end of a way of life that, despite its pitfalls, has served fishermen well for centuries?
As much as Canada has been good for our people, sometimes it's easy to feel disturbed over the way the fishery has been viewed by the Canadian government. No Federal government, liberal or conservative, has handled the seal hunt controversy well. The government has virtually refused to admit that they have a role to play on the international scene, with respect to seals and trade. In short they have always dismissed the seal hunt as inconsequential.
What that says to countries being lobbied by anti-seal hunt protesters is Canada doesn't care about sealers and their way of life. The European Union got the message from Stephen Harper that he really doesn't give a tinker's dam. Canada presents as a lightweight country, even when it's holding trade cards.
This is evidenced by the fact that Stephen Harper was negotiating trade deals with the EU, as they were voting against the hunt, and he didn't even bring up seals as a bargaining chip. That speaks volumes. But the icing on the cake was the vote in the Canadian Parliament requiring Olympic athletes to wear seal fur on their uniforms in 2010.
What kind of nonsense is this? Is this sop to Cerberus going to make up for the lack of action and pussy footing around from Mr. Harper? And that doesn't even take into account the other factor of forcing athletes to wear seal fur...
It wouldn't be much of a stretch to imagine that some Olympic athletes are against the seal hunt. They shouldn't be forced or cajoled into wearing seal fur because the Prime Minister didn't have the courage, or the will, to do more on the national stage. As much as the seal hunt means to me, forcing athletes to wear seal fur is just plain wrong. The parliamentarians should be asked to walk in the other person's shoes before making such ridiculous rules.
Well, anyway, the fishery is a mess and at this point the light at the end of the tunnel is just one more lost person with a flashlight (my words). As seals multiply, it won't be long before someone will have to take another look at the situation.
While seals are protected and allowed to increase, other species are being harvested to extinction. One house of cards has fallen and we're building another. We've learned nothing from the past and the new house is being built like the old one, without a firm foundation. Protecting seals alone is not the answer.
There is no harmony, no respect for nature or for humans. The once proud way of life that sustained us for generations needs a new archetype. The sad part of the happenings this year is prices for fish have to fall. We aren't selling basic food in the marketplace. The fish we sell falls under the category of luxury food. When consumers stop or limit their visits to fancy restaurants, the consumption of lobster, shrimp and crab will also be limited.
In reality, the government is much like the anti-seal hunt protestors. Both groups are looking at the fishery through tunnel vision. Did the government bargain away the fish for what they thought was greater influence for Canada? It's better to think that than to believe they truly didn't have any understanding of their actions.
The anti-seal hunt protestors are another matter. Their only objective is to make money and they have effectively sold the idea of barbarism to intellectuals who fail to question the sustainability of letting seals go unchecked in a world gone mad with overkill.
The irony is, like the fish, a way of life is on the brink of extinction at a time when people are beginning to realize that the richness of the rural life is beyond compare. There is no life like it!
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