ForewordBefore reading this article, I sincerely invite you to click "Follow", which is not only convenient for you to discuss and share, but also brings you a different sense of participation, thank you for your support.
Text/Chenchen doesn't like to eat tofu c
Editor/Chenchen doesn't like to eat tofu c
Preface
The former "world's first fishing port" Newfoundland fishing ground, once fed the whole of Europe, it has a glorious history of 500 years, but now it has fallen to the point of no fish to catch, even if the fishing ban has been closed for more than 20 years, the situation has not improved, what has it experienced?
In the process of human development, we are constantly refreshing all kinds of data, but behind this data there is a huge threat, and even caused irreversible damage, the rapid development of modern fisheries, efficient mechanical operations have replaced manual fishing.
Large-scale fisheries are rich in seafood, which can not only meet the daily needs of the local people, but also export to other countries around the world to earn foreign exchange, so as to meet the demand for seafood in other regions, but the once "world's first fishing port" has now existed in name only.
Newfoundland Fisheries
More than 500 years ago, John Cabot, an Italian navigator traveling in the Atlantic, passed by a small island, and near the island she was surprised to find that the fishing boats were almost surrounded by fish, so dense that a person with a phobia of density fainted on the spot.
Even John Cabot, who was accustomed to seeing big scenes, found such a scene in disbelief, and he wrote down what he saw in his diary, exclaiming: "Put a stone in a basket and throw it into the sea, and the basket will be filled with cod in no time."
The crew members who were on the boat with him said that they had just walked to the shore on the backs of the fish, which shows the sheer number of fish here. But this was only 500 years ago, and now it is only a stagnant water, leaving a shocking trace on humanity, which is precisely the punishment of human greed by nature!
The word insatiable can describe the vast majority of human beings very well, when they see a certain resource, the first thought that comes to mind is how to take it for themselves, and then turn it into money and put it in their own pockets, for which many people even do not hesitate to destroy the ecological environment, and the Newfoundland fishery we are going to talk about today is a very typical example.
European hegemon
Today's North America is developing quite well, especially the United States has become the hegemon, but before that, Europe is the strongest existence in the world, relying on its own strength, plundering everywhere, making many countries become "prisoners".
Europe is the earliest developed region in the world, mainly thanks to the opening of new shipping routes, in the Age of Discovery, their expansion was undoubtedly successful, creating industrial civilization, and the first to start the industrial revolution was Britain, which is an old capitalist country with a fairly developed economy.
It is precisely because of such strong support that some European countries have been able to invade other countries with impunity. North America is extremely rich in raw materials, so European countries have set their sights on North America, and Newfoundland Fishery is a resource gathering place in North America, so naturally it has not escaped their claws.
After the discovery of the fishing ground by John Cabot, it can be said that the Europeans were shocked, so they could not wait to come to this area to declare sovereignty, at that time, Europe was the world's leading in navigation technology, which brought them good economic benefits.
Fishing on a large scale
A large number of European countries came here, including Spain, Portugal, France, the United Kingdom, etc., and their arrival instantly turned the originally uninhabited island into a lively place, and Britain and Ireland became the biggest beneficiaries in this war of "sea resources".
Many people made their fortune selling dried cod, and some even stayed here, waking up early and working late every day on the shallow beaches to dry the fish and sell them to local European merchants.
Later, the Europeans began to build large-scale fishing factories on the shores of Newfoundland's fishing grounds, and by selling cod, they fed tens of thousands of fishermen and raised a number of excellent navies.
After entering the 20th century, with the dividends brought by the steam engine revolution, the rapid rise of marine machinery, people began to carry out deep-sea fishing operations, and shipbuilding continued to develop, so that people's fishing range continued to expand.
In the fifties of the last century, large mechanical fishing boats continued to sail to the sea, and the most seriously affected by mechanical operations was the Newfoundland fishing grounds, after World War II, due to the crazy economic development of developed countries, the freezing storage technology in Europe was constantly updated, which brought disaster to the Newfoundland fishing grounds.
According to an old Newfoundland fisherman, in 1954, a huge steamer came to sea, carrying an oversized motorized trawl and quick-freezer, which changed the way cod was stored, and the fate of the fishery forever.
Cod is caught on the ship, does not need to do any processing, directly thrown into the quick-freezing freezer for quick-freezing, and then shipped out for sale, which is much more time-saving and labor-saving than drying dried cod, and also faster than dried cod, under the temptation of money, there are more and more giant ships near the fishing ground.
This was a major twist of fortune for Newfoundland, which used to be harvested in the traditional way, which was not only small and slow, but also fishermen avoided the cod spawning season, so even after hundreds of years of fishing, there was still a steady stream of cod.
But the capitalists are different, with the huge giant ship and the blessing of new technology, the catch in one hour can be worth the amount of several months in the traditional way, and such a speed does not give the cod time to breathe and reproduce.
Therefore, this kind of large-scale fishing, in just ten years, has "hollowed out" the shallow waters of Newfoundland, and these people began to attack the idea of the deep sea area, and the current fate of the Newfoundland fishing grounds can be said to be caused by them.
The first point is the progress of modern technology in industrialization, the updating of fishing technology, and then the upgrading of freezing technology, the invention of containers is also a major driving force for the development of the fishing industry, although on the surface it is human technology progress.
But the bottomless fishing has made these new equipment the killers of the ocean, and they are not willing to stop when the resources are getting scarcer, but extend their motorized trawls to the bottom of the sea, where there are almost no fish that have escaped the net, and even the plants on the bottom of the sea have been destroyed.
Banning fishing for 20 years in exchange for "cutting off children and grandchildren"
This trend was mitigated by Newfoundland's accession to Canada, which in 1977 announced a 200-nautical-mile territorial sea rights bill to protect Newfoundland's resources.
They began to use sonar technology to fish, so that the few cod that were left have no way to escape, and by the time of the 90s of the 20th century, the Newfoundland fishing grounds had reached the dilemma of no fish to catch, and things developed to this point, and the government had to issue a 20-year fishing ban.
But it was too late, because the long-term fishing has seriously damaged the ecological balance, and even with the help of external forces to help the fish breed, the place has not been restored to its former state, and there are still very few fish in the basin until now.
Seeing the end of what was once the "world's first fishing port", we have to take warning, the abundant fish is a gift from nature, we must cherish it, do not overfish, and do not damage the ecological environment.
Although modern fishing has the blessing of new technology and technology, it has improved the efficiency of fishing, but some of this way will have a great impact on the environment, so when we use these tools, we must know how to protect the environment and wild species, and we need to work together to do this.