The Supreme Cod

The Supreme Cod

Earlier this week, CBC’s "Cross Talk" noon hour show engaged an expert and the public 

on who should not be forgotten as part of our great history.

The names were many - Shawnadithit, JR Smallwood, William Coaker, etc - all laudable lads and gals, to be sure. 

But there was no mention of the fish that changed the fate of our province like no other, not to mention the world - Cod. 

The fish was so epic, it is crediting with launching modern Western civilization.

Cod lured sailors across the Atlantic to our rich Grand Banks and our shores- and in fact further south to the American seaboard.

The great adventure  was called  "The Race to Codlandia".

 Vikings sailed west from Norway and on to Iceland and Greenland - to seek the Cod 

- but the only way they could do it was with the help of stockfish - frosty wind-dried Cod.

The Basque fishers came for centuries to our waters - for their love of Cod; plus they had the salt for the perfect marriage with fish.

The Portuguese and the English eventually got into the Cod game lusting after our prolific cod-grazing  grounds. In fact, they fought wars to gain access to this supreme treasure.

As Mark Kurlansky outlines in his book "Cod - A Biography of a Fish That Changed the World" - Cod was the epicenter of the great Triangular Trade between NL, the Americas, European and the West Indies.  Fish was the prime protein, traded for molasses, sugar, coffee and rum.

Wars would not have been able to be fought without Cod - it fed armies. 

In NL, it was so important it was once our currency - more precious than any bar of  gold.

History has shown that it is a humble fish - with a ginormous impact. 

Despite its splendor, Cod is nearly forgotten - let thy tourist become the new Cod has become the new whisper of the land.  During the previous few decades, oil vied to be the new Cod God.

Meanwhile, our celebrity-seeking decision-makers play Russian Roulette with fish and its long-term fate.

Our quintessential fish has been snubbed.

NL Cod warrior Zita Cobb said it best:      
"Everything in the NL (European) culture can be figured out from Cod 
- it's the most important thing."

Our society and economy are in trouble because we have forgotten this Cod-darnest truth. 

And whoa, wasn’t near-extinction 27 years ago enough of a wake-up call?  

Fish neglect is a rotting stench that needs to be Febreezed with common sense 

- our descendants will not be able to eat tourists nor  oil.   

(Besides, they just don't have the same  rich cultural flavour as the delicious taste and smell of fish!)  

It's no coincidence that NL is the only province with a culture rich enough for its own Dictionary; and Cod is the only Fish with its own Biography.   We were a magical team - one of a kind!

Now, Cod has left us for its sins for which we have not confessed nor made retribution.

Soon, the true spirit of our beloved province will not  be recognizable 

without the shape of Cod upon our shores.

-30-

"In cod we trust--or can we? On the East Coast and especially Newfoundland, cod is not just a fish. Cod is THE fish. Cod is more than a fish, actually, cod is a deity, the bringer of wealth, the currency of the settlers, the hopes and dreams of the early immigrants."

https://lizfeltham.wordpress.com/tag/black-cod/