Fishermen of Northwest Newfoundland: Domestic Commodity Production in Advanced Capitalism

• Published in: Journal of Canadian Studies
• Main Author: SINCLAIR, PETER R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) 1984
• Subjects: History; Cultural Studies; Newfoundland; Port au Choix
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/jcs.19.1.34; https://utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/jcs.19.1.34

This paper investigates the changing social organization of the fishermen in northwest Newfoundland, especially Port au Choix. Until the mid-sixties these fishermen worked as domestic commodity producers utilizing simple inshore technologies. Subsequently, a minority adopted more capital intensive technologies based on individual property ownership and the hiring of wage-labour. Shrimp and cod dragging became the preferred form of fishing. Yet domestic commodity producers also increased in number in a context where alternative employment was scarce and state policy permitted survival. The significance of state intervention is emphasized and implications of the Kirby Task Force report are considered. The experience of the fishermen is examined in relation to theories of primary production in advanced capitalism which are found to be inadequate to cope with the complexities of change in this area due to an excessively lineal and structuralist orientation.