Cod Collapse: The Rise and Fall of Newfoundland's Saltwater Cowboys

Pop returned then, as I do now, to this porch in Little Bay East.... I take a deep breath of fresh, salty air―the smell of fish, noticeably absent.

In 1992, the cod moratorium put some thirty thousand fishers across Newfoundland and Labrador out of work. These were journalist Jenn Thornhill Verma's people. Encompassing memoir and history, Cod Collapse traces a lost way of life, digging into the stories of the author's own family, including her Pop, one of the province's original "saltwater cowboys," a fisher on the southeastern shores of Newfoundland.

This thoughtfully researched and captivating account reveals how Newfoundlanders from many walks of life, and from distinct regions across the island portion of the province, have coped in the aftermath of the largest mass layoff in Canadian history. Integrating the varied and compelling stories of a whale-watcher, a singer-songerwriter, a fisher, and a photographer, this moving narrative deftly takes readers from the present back to the early days of the fishery, and forward to consider what lies ahead.

Jennifer Thornhill-Verma is a proud Newfoundlander descended from fishers. She has a background in radio and works in the non-profit health sector. Jenn holds a Master of Science in Medicine, a Bachelor of Journalism/Biology, and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction. She has written about her fishing roots in such magazines as Maisonneuve, Downhome, Saltscapes, Newfoundland Quarterly, Explore and The Telegram (St. Johns). In her spare time, Jenn paints landscapes.