For 500 years the fishery has been the mainstay of the economy of Newfoundland. In recent years we have moved a fair distance from that. It's still a billion-dollar-plus industry, but we've moved away from groundfish and into shellfish for the most part. I think the fishery is a sustainable resource that, if managed properly, will be there for generations to come.
Right now in Newfoundland, most people who pursue the fishery pursue it for a very short time and with a limited number of species. Many year ago I worked in the fishery as a quality control manager, and at that time we processed 37 species of fish and we worked 52 weeks of the year at the plants where I was in charge. I would have to go to the office and plead my case around Christmas to get a week off to enjoy with my family. Those days have disappeared, but the fish are still there, I think. It's just that we have moved away from them into other directions. That is something with which I'm a bit disappointed. I think that the fishery still holds great potential.
With regard to the Cougar crash, again it comes down to a regulatory regime. I've read through some of the report. At a quick glance, there were 16 items that could have probably prevented that crash. There were 26 other items noted, and four recommendations, but at the end of the day we had a helicopter that flew offshore from Newfoundland that supposedly should have had 30 minutes of run-dry time and didn't.
I do not blame the pilots. The pilots probably were operating with improper information. They thought they had longer to get to shore and they didn't.
My brother, who was on that chopper, had always said, “Don't worry. We have safety mechanisms in hand.” I said, “ If you're 200 miles out there over the North Atlantic, what happens if a problem occurs?” He would always sort of grin and say, “No big deal. We've been trained. They'll put her down, we'll jump into the ocean, and somebody will come to get us.” He made light of it.
The thing that bothers me most of all is that he never had the opportunity to jump into the ocean. There were signals that said to put this chopper down. The protocols were there. They were not followed. Someone second-guessed it, and it was probably second-guessed because of false information. That still bothers me.