labor force in these areas from the fish- 

 eries into other occupations can take 

 place only if there are fundamental changes 

 in the whole economic structure. Such 

 changes are taking place in some areas, in 

 fact, but by their nature they must be 

 long-term changes ... .In any case, we have 

 to acknowledge that in the areas where 

 fishing remains the basic industry, it is 

 hardly possible for sufficient numbers of 

 fishermen to shift temporarily to other 

 occupations in adverse times." ^7/ 



A survey conducted by the South Coasb 

 Commission of Newfoundland in 1956 re- 

 vealed that on the Province's South Coast 

 earnings in the local Inshore fishery- 

 averaged $626 per annum versus $1,362 in 

 the local deep-sea fishery. It found that 

 welfare payments averaging $1^60 per annum 

 were made to 19 percent of the people and 

 that about one -fifth of family incomes 

 were made up of family alloxvances and wel- 

 fare payments. ^48 / 



Low earnings, isolation, and lack of 

 alternative work nearby have an effect not 

 only on living standards but also on edu- 

 cational and social service standards . On 

 the same South Coast of Newfoundland, less 

 than 8 percent of the school teachers had 

 one year of university training. In 19^1, 

 kS percent of the total Canadian male labor 

 force had had some education beyond the 

 eighth grade. Only 28 percent of the New- 

 foundland male labor fol'ce and only 33 per- 

 cent of New Brunswick workers had attained 

 this level. Of the fishery labor force, 

 however, the equivalent proportions are 

 appallingly low; 10 percent in Newfound- 

 land; 19 percent in New Brunswick, and -21 

 percent in Nova Scotia. In Newfoundland, 

 hh percent of the fishermen had not gone 

 beyond the fourth grade. ii2/ 



The present situation and the unfavor- 

 able future prospects have induced many of 

 the more enterprising fishermen to over- 

 come the obstacles to mobility and to move 

 to other jobs. This is particularly evi- 

 dent in Newfoundland where, from 19U7 to 



195?, about 38 percent of the fishernien 

 took other jobs, SO/ (table 11-13). As 

 the Royal Commission on Canada's Economic 

 Prospects observes, Newfoundland was a 

 special case in that there was a rapid 

 growth of new alternative jobs in the post- 

 war years . ^V 



In the Maritime Provinces, however, 

 the movement out of the fisheries was less 

 pronounced. If the postwar period (19U7- 

 1955) is compared with the war and imme- 

 diate years (1937-19U6), the number of 

 fishermen dropped about 18 percent. After 

 I9U7, however, the rate of decrease was 

 much more moderate, so that 1955 employ- 

 ment was only h percent below that of 19ii7. 



The reserve of surplus fishing labor 

 in the Atlantic Provinces would seem to 

 have certain logical implications perti- 

 nent to a study of the comparative cost 

 advantages of catching groundfish there as 

 compared with New England. One would ex- 

 pect that the effect of many supplying 

 units, as in the inshore fishery, selling 

 to relatively few buying units would put 

 buyers in a strong bargaining position in 

 respect to prices. Canadian industry 

 observers admit that this situation does 

 occur and that such sellers are unable to 

 present a united front to buyers who are 

 much more knowledgeable of market condi- 

 tions . 



Are, then, the trawler owners in a 

 position to benefit from the generally- 

 more abundant labor market in the Atlantic 

 Provinces, particularly in the fisheries? 



As indicated previously there is con- 

 siderable concentration of ownership in 

 the trawler fleets, and all are owned by 

 fish processors. The largest single item 

 of trip expense in operating a trawler is 

 labor cost. Hence, it is to a trawler 

 owner's advantage -fco keep this cost as 

 low as possible. This is particularly 

 true if he is also a processor, for every 

 additional penny per pound he spends for 



hi/ Newfoundland Fisheries Development Committee Report . 1953. St. John's, Newfound- 

 lancT, Canada, 1953. p. 12. 



U8/ Province of Newfoundland. Report of the South Coast Commission, 1957 . St. John's 

 Newfoundland, Canada, 1957. pp. 92-98. 



h9/ Table 19, Census of Canada . 1951, ^olume IV, Labour Force, Queen's Printer and 

 Controller of Stationeiy, Ottawa, Ontario, 1953. 



50/ Many, however, re-turned to fishing in the 1957-1958 recession. 



^/ The Com i reroia] Fisheries of Canada , op. cit., p. 125. 



2U 



