Megan Coles 'Haul ourselves up by our hip-rubbers'

Where to from here -

"To be thrown upon one's own resources is to be cast into the very lap of fortune; for our facilities develop and display an energy of which they were previously insusceptible."

Benjamin Franklin, the notable author, politician, scientist, statesmen, soldier and diplomat, shared the above piece of wisdom with the world. Franklin was a founding father of our southern neighbour and an advocate for industry and innovation. He displayed real ingenuity, the kind of ingenuity required when dealing with daunting variables and constant uncertainty. The kind of ingenuity rural Newfoundland, and the Northern Peninsula especially, is going to have to access in order to deal with this most recent blow to the struggling local economy.

The crab and shrimp fisheries are currently paralyzed by disgruntled processors, insufficient price and the global recession. Ten thousand plus residents of the northern most part of the pen stand to be greatly affected by the recent and possible ongoing, unofficial close. The recession, an economic factor well beyond the control of any one government, affects us all as we participate in a global economy based on outside aid, support and trade interaction. Self-sufficiency is entirely a thing of the past, as is serenity so we may as well forget this notion of routine, the idea of normal. In order to deal with our shifting circumstances, we as rural Newfoundlanders need to adapt, relinquish old patterns of thought and use the individual capital we have to ensure the survival of our communities. Now is not the time for denial, paranoia, inaction and blame; these attitudes will only lead to further negative consequences.

Denying that the global fish stocks are not in a perpetual state of decline due to overfishing as a result of overpopulation does nothing to further our cause. It is just so. There are almost 7 billion people on the planet and a lot of them want to eat fish, that isn't going to change. Technological advances have made the majority of the world's fisher-people redundant, there is no going back. Denying these facts allows for very little innovation and hinders transition into new industry.

Conspiracy theories, though they may be fun to discuss over a nip, do absolutely nothing to deal with our current employment rates. Constantly waxing on and off about 'who is in it to get you' does not get you out of the poor house. It just fosters inaction and blame, preventing any productive discussion concerning possible solutions to our employment issues. Because we have some serious employment issues, don't we?

Now we can all wallow in our collective misery, shake our heads and parrot "she's gone b'y she's gone" or we can haul ourselves up by our hip-rubbers and finally get on with it. I say we get on with it! It's time to diversify and I don't mean diversify the fishery. That is important, yes, but we all can't work in just the one industry. That's basically what got us into this mess in the first place. No, we need a proper contingency plan because this global fishery is only going to become further taxed as more bellies require more food. So I suggest we all put our ingenuity hats on and start thinking outside the box. We're teeming in human capital here, creative capital, skills and ability so why not put it to use?

Engage one another is positive conversations rather than harp on the negative. What's done is done, it's how we choose to meet this new challenge that will define us as an area, as a society. Newfoundlanders want to live in Newfoundland so let's make that a viable option.

Now, I'm not sure exactly what businesses could/should be started, what resources can be utilized or what industry we best embrace but I am sure that we are a bright, resourceful group. Our forefathers and mothers somehow managed to survive the peninsula without any of the amenities we now have so it is our responsibility to figure a means of continuing their legacy. We need to transition, we need to change. Change is good thing even if it is unnerving. It's intriguing. It's exciting!

I mean, think about it. What are our faculties capable of developing when forced to do so? What great displays of energy will manifest in this transformation? What fortune await us when we choose to rely on ourselves? This is an opportunity to realize our potential for great feats of ingenuity, Northern Pen style.