The summer of 1981, when competition for cod was fierce

In this archival episode of Land & Sea from 1981, Dave Quinton and the crew visit Newtown, Bonavista Bay.

It's a picturesque town that is often featured in tourism photos and campaigns because of its iconic churches, large homes and the Barbour Living Heritage Village.

Newtown was settled during the 1800s when families came in from surrounding places such as Pinchard's Island.

Close to a shallow fishing ground, the small-boat fishers of Newtown often dealt with rough seas but in this episode, they have another challenge — longliners from other bays, with a larger capacity to fish. 

This episode was filmed in the summer of 1981, when the inshore cod fishery was still being worked by men in small boats. But that summer, cod were scarce elsewhere and longliners had moved onto Newtown's shallow fishing grounds.

Frustration was building for some of the locals who relied on gillnets. Some were calling for a buffer zone to keep the larger boats out.

The show also touches on outmigration and how a new salmon and lobster licensing system was preventing people from coming home from jobs on the mainland to re-enter the fishery.

The events that played out in Newtown during the summer of 1981 foretold some of the pressures that would lead to the collapse of the cod fishery and the moratorium of 1992. 

The episode ends in October, when the crew goes back to Newtown for the annual Harvest Festival.

Celebrated in the church, the bounty of Bonavista Bay adorns the altar — salt cod, partridgeberries, baked goods, preserves, carrots, partridges and rabbits.

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