PART II
BY: EDWIN DE LEON
Newfoundland was far from the consciousness of the world community until John Cabot, in the late 1400s, declared: “fish ( cod ) was thick by the shore that we hardly have been able to row a boat through them.” Thus began the waves of Southern Europeans, chiefly migratory fishers from Spain and Portugal took to NL as the prime source of fish for Southern Europe and beyond.
NL became the first British colony in 1583; fought both world wars with the British, and was an indispensable transatlantic refueling stop. In 1949, NL became Canada’s 10th and youngest province.
Other than these now historical footnotes, many still had a vague idea of what NL is all about. Once, driving in a Motorhome in the US south, we could listen to motorists on our CB radio ( remember those?) upon seeing our plates, asking: “what state” is that! Likewise, it was common in mainland Canada for gas attendants ( remember them?) to ask where we’re from.
Then came a series of events that catapulted the province into the national and international contemporary consciousness. The first in the mid-80s was the Seal Hunt. They were portraying Newfoundlanders as savages for clubbing baby seals ( “whitecoats” ). It was a winning characterization as celebrities descended on the ice, the likes of Brigette Bardot and Beatle Paul Macartney, demanding the end of the hunt. Boycott of seal fur coats and Canadian salmon ensued in the European markets. Commercial whitecoats hunt ended shortly after.
The second was Titanic, the movie. The exploration of the sunken ship that preceded the film highlighted the giant icebergs on the coast of NL. This one had many unintended consequences. Iceberg watching, along with whales, became an ongoing annual tourist draw. In addition, iceberg Vodka, made in NL from iceberg water, is touted as the “purest vodka” ever made.
Third, the events of 9/11 ( Sept. 9, 2001 ) put Gander, a small town with an international airport, as a destination for 38 commercial flights when fights were diverted all over the US and Europe. Surrounding communities accommodated 6,500 ( that’s over half of Gander’s population ) passengers. Besides the lifelong friendships it created, a Tony Award-winning ( Come From Away ) play was conceived on Broadway.
For many of us, with connections in the mainland and the US, we already knew that we were part of a unique experience unlike anywhere else in Canada. The homogeneity of the population, the historical ties with fishing and geography all contributed to this uniqueness.
SALMON FISHING, ICE FISHING
Our house was just outside of a provincial park. The province created it to protect a major salmon river. Like big game hunting, fishing in this area is highly regulated. Water levels and numbers are closely monitored. The allowable limit has declined through the years and is currently reduced to two; most of the activity after is catch-and-release. Fly fishing for Atlantic salmon is the pinnacle of sportfishing, of which patience is paramount. NL ( and Labrador ) have been a favourite destination of the most discriminating salmon fishermen, attracting US Presidents George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter seasonally.
Fly fishing is a most frustrating exercise; when standing in thigh-deep water ( in “thigh rubbers” ), you see hundreds of salmon milling about but not biting. It is as much as making the right choice of the fly as your perseverance in casting for hours and not get a “rise” ( that’s when the salmon leaps out to snatch your fly ). Only the purists have enough fortitude to wake up at 2 am only to snuggle in a sleeping bag on a favourite rock to cast the first fly at the crack of dawn. I never reached that level of diligence in salmon fishing, but my son was a total fanatic in this realm, even tying his flies.
Hooking ( barbless hooks only ) a fish does not guarantee that you got it in the bag. The struggle to corral it in your net is fraught with skill and composure. When finally you got it in your net, you have to make sure it is no more than 63 cms—and caught in the mouth. Otherwise, the fish must be released. Loss of rod and reel is the least penalty for such breaches as jigged salmon or weighted fly. However, an untagged salmon ( poached ) violation has severe consequences in today’s dwindling stocks.
It was not always like that. When it used to be plentiful, I had enough ( along with trout, which has a higher bag limit ) to bottle and smoke. By August, the salmon season is over. The caplin run in July (these annual fish run on a sandy beach to spawn, this is the Atlantic equivalent of the Pacific Grunion) is over. Although not regularly like caplin, there are also squid runs, and occasionally, in the fall, Mackerel shows up. In October, the rivers fill up with smelts on their way to freshwater ponds to reproduce.
( Mackerel by the Thousands )
With so much fish and so few people to consume it (little market at the time), we dried and smoked some, and used plenty to fertilize the garden. In the 60’s and 70’s, the only fish with any commercial value was Cod, Salmon, female Herring and Capelin ( Shishamo ) ( males are ground into fish meal or smoked and dried )
ICE FISHING
In the 70s ( and presumably earlier ), winter was long and predictable. I took a picture of an ice hole during an ice fishing outing in June in the 70s. It is no longer safe to be on a snowmobile scooting around on a big pond by late March in today’s winter.
The NL style of ice fishing does not mimic the mainland variety. We never used any ice huts or even elaborate ice sheds. These are heated, sometimes with carpeted living rooms, with the holes right in front of a sofa, satellite TV, generator, running water, etc., common in Quebec and NB. In NL, it’s as raw as they come. A semi-igloo or tree boughs to block the wind, maybe a stool and your fishing hole. If the spot is productive, then you build a small fire for additional warmth. If the three holes ( the limit ) are far apart, we put a plastic ( or cardboard ) fin at the end of a fishing stick mounted on a hinge in the middle; it rises up and down as it catches the wind. While it fishes itself, you get on your snowmobile and check your rabbit snares.
Ice Fishing: A favourite weekend pastime)
By the end of the day, you may have your limit of lake trout, arctic char, smelts, and rabbits to boot. Some will take their chain saws and cut some wood in the meantime. The most casual ice fisher drive their cars in the middle of a pond, auger a hole, and fish right beside the driver seat ( the laziest ones lie prone on the back seat, with the heat and stereo on). It is a small town’s Sunday afternoon activity if you are not into ” beer and darts .”
SMOKED FISH
Smoking fish ( Tinapa) is a very involved process that was part of the fall ritual. Any fish can be smoked, but nothing like smoked salmon. The process of “cold smoking” is a slow, laborious process that allows natural smoke to penetrate the fish without actually cooking it. I have followed what the locals call the “Labrador Smoke” process. My smokehouse was nothing more than a tall pine enclosure, the size of a medium-sized fridge ( some people use a discarded fridge with all the insulation and plastics removed ) with four sliding shelves of chicken wire. (ideally, non-galvanized ). At the bottom is an iron pail with air holes on the side. Here you build a small fire from birch, maple, or cherry wood ( not softwood ). We gather moss ( this is the thick carpet of growth on bogs ), soaked it in water, and put it on top of your fire. The smoldering moss will generate heavy smoke. Big salmon requires about 8 hours of this process, while smaller fish like caplin or trout a lot less. No commercially smoked salmon can favourably compare with this product.
FISH N’ BREWIS, JIGGS DINNER, AND OTHER DELICACIES
Food, as you would expect, is the most prominent expression of one’s culture. “Fish N’ Brewis” is a throwback to the days when fishermen would bring hard bread ( Brewis )that can last the long fishing voyages. The hard bread ( soaked in water ) mixed with boiled salt cod topped with “scruncheons” ( fried chopped pork fat ). This one became an acquired taste and now is part of my regular meal, just like “Jiggs Dinner.”
In NL, root vegetables and cabbage are stored in root cellars over the winter. These form the basis of the most popular meal on the island. The simplicity of this meal belies the “secret” ingredient that makes it an otherwise bland and tasteless pot of starch. That “secret” has now spread to the mainland. I see it in regular stores being marketed ( in the GTA ) as “NL Style” in a bucket with a NL map on it!
( A bucket of NL style salt beef )
In NL, people buy Salt Beef by the buckets ( sometimes in 5-gallon lot ). A couple of chunks in a pot of potatoes, turnip ( rutabagas ), carrots, cabbage, split peas ( in pudding bag, making peas pudding ), plus turnip greens in the summer, makes an otherwise bland concoction—plus gravy from meat ( moose, beef )or turkey drippings. Leftovers; potatoes, turnips and carrots, and salt fish are mashed together and made into fish cakes. With fried buttered “toutens” ( leftover bread dough ) with molasses and beans, completes a traditional NL breakfast
If Filipinos are into oxtails, Newfoundlanders are into turkey necks! We bought them by the boxes and typically made them into soup or baked. The knowledgeable will tell you that the necks’ meat tastes better than any other part of the turkey, as I suppose, the die-hard enthusiasts will say the same thing with oxtails.
One delicacy that did not fancy my taste buds was seal meat. It is not an everyday meal served in today’s NL households. As a boarder with an elderly couple, I have tried it, but the fatty dark oily meat with a fishy taste is not for the faint of heart. Rabbit brains are preferable even though I am not much of this delicacy either. During the heady days of the seal hunt, the commercial value is in the pelt. The flipper is the only meat saved ( for the traditional “Flipper Pie ” ); there is little demand for the flesh; most carcasses are left on the ice.
In the years before the cod fishing moratorium in the 90s, fish plants were major employers in coastal communities. Boys would gather discarded cod heads to harvest the cheeks and tongues and sell them door to door. There were few markets for male caplin and herring then that trucks could be seen dumping these species with cod offals in huge pits. When demands for snow crabs ( opilio )were starting, you could buy them live for 10 cents a pound. By-catches at the dock were for the asking.
Today, some 50 years later, nothing is thrown out. At the very least, the lesser species are converted into fish meal. An enterprising Vietnamese started a fish sauce ( Patis ) factory to utilize the male caplin. Some plants have used the lesser species to make artificial crab meat ( surimi ). Dried and smoked caplin, dried squid, sea urchin eggs ( Uni ) have become mainstream. Along with cultured mussels and farmed salmon, the cod moratorium has given way to a diverse fishery.
Language is central in any culture; a truism unrivaled only by fish in NL However, not just the terminology and style but the jargon and idioms are unique in Canada. We will explore these and more in Part III and the final chapter of “Memories of Newfoundland” in the Sept 1-15 issue of BALITA.*****
