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Fishing
practices
The
fishery at Red Island
First
person accounts
Species
Glossary
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The
life of these workers can only be vaguely imagined today. Work
began very early, while still dark at the beginning of the season,
and was not finished before nightfall. The food was mediocre,
even though the presence of gardens, livestock and a bakery tell
us that at Red Island they did not experience the disastrous conditions
of the majority of French fishing settlements. The permanent residence
of a doctor, who very often had the title but not the experience,
guaranteed that injuries and illnesses, common to the fishermen,
fishing accidents, whitlow and other infections caused by knives
and hooks, pleurisies and pneumonias, could be adequately treated.
The
cabins which perched along the cliff were nothing but wood huts
exposed to freely circulating air which carried the poudrin
(powdery snow) of the last spring storms into every crack. One or
two straw mattresses thrown on wooden frames and that was it.
The sojourn
of the fishermen varied according to whether they came from France
or from St-Pierre-et-Miquelon. The fishermen from France were dropped
on the island by the outfitters' ships at the start of the fishing
season, that is to say in March or the beginning of April. They
unloaded dorys in which was packed the salt and other necessities
of the campaign. The livestock, if they had some were thrown into
the water and had to swim to the beach. The manoeuvring required
to hoist them to the top of the island must have been epic... Once
all goods had been unloaded, the schooners left and returned only
at the end of the season in September or October. The only connection
between the fishermen and the homeland was the French naval ships
of the Newfoundland Division who had to insure that French fishing
rights were respected and saw to the distribution of mail, checked
the validity of fishing settlements and made sure that the numerous
fishing regulations imposed by the French Maritime Registry were
respected.
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