Servants of the Fish: A Portrait of Newfoundland After the Great Cod Collapse

by Myron Arms

As the last of the northern cod disappeared from the fishing banks of eastern North America during the waning years of the 20th century, more than just fish faced the threat of extinction. In communities all around the island of Newfoundland, thousands of fishermen and their families suddenly found themselves confronted by a similar threat.

Servants of the Fish is the story of these people, who are at once the perpetrators and the victims of this event. As he did in his bestselling Riddle of the Ice , Arms employs the drama of the voyage to bring readers face to face with the people and the geography of the tale he tells. It is the tale of a particular time and place. Yet it is also an allegory of sorts―about predators and prey, about greed and denial, and about our collective ability as human beings to destroy natural systems once thought to be infinite.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2004

Reviews

[Suzanne Auckerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

About Newfoundland and the collapse of the cod fishery, the politics of the Canadian Game and Fishery Commission (I always thought the Canadians were reasonable, but this group is not) and the impact on the families, many who had been fisherman for generations. I have never been to Newfoundland, but it certainly fit with stories that Chuck told from his travels.

[Sean Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good message and interesting subject. Arms is mostly fair. He seems to have a knack for observation. This though makes his ecological message lack punch, although it humanizes those he interviews. I wish the prose was more lively.