Fish Merchants

1. Fish Merchants Fish merchants over the years were given a bad name but while some of them made fortunes others could end up bankrupt

2. Extremely Important The fishery in Newfoundland operated under the Truck system - a cashless system where a merchant gave the fishermen credit at their store in return for their fish. The fisherman could use this credit to purchase fishing gear, food and clothing

3. Fish was sold by the quintal- 112 pounds(approximately 51 kg) of dried fish

4. The fish was graded by a government employee who was an expert on the different grades of salt fish

5. Fish were divided into 2 groups and graded within those groups - Handout • Shore Fish(which included bank fish) was salted and dried 1 Choice 2 Merchantable 3 Madeira 4 West India • Genuine Labrador was heavy salted and soft cured 1 Quality No. 1 2 Quality No. 2 3 Cullage

6. The highest grades of fish was sent to Spain, Portugal and Italy

7. The lowest grades of fish was sent to the West Indies to feed slaves

8. The value of the fish changed from year to year and depended on demand in foreign countries

9. This meant that the fishermen could never predict the value of their catch until it was sold in the fall

10. Extremely important so do not complain about the notes Truck System

11. The main problem with the truck system was that the merchant could set the price for fish and the price of the goods he sold in his store

12. In most outports there was only one merchant and the fishermen must accept the price paid for fish and the price charged for goods • No competition

13. This meant fishing families were easily exploited

14. Fishing families often got into debt to a merchant and became trapped in a cycle of debt that did not end

15. Some merchants overcharged for goods in their store and underpaid the fishermen for their fish. If a fisherman complained he might be refused credit which meant he would probably have to move

16. Some merchants, however were fair with their prices, and helped out the community

17. They also faced financial risks as the prices they got for fish changed from year to year. Sometimes fishermen did not pay their debts and the merchant lost money See Sealers Handout