Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown

For a long time, we were forgotten about.

We were the joke of the country, you know?

And now I think we're the ones kind of having the last laugh.

It's a magical, beautiful place to live,

and we're surrounded by amazing things.

To be able to go outside and, you know,

go out and jig a fish or shoot a moose

or, you know, go out and pick some berries

and to be able to bring that to the table

and create a sense of place for people...

When they look out the window,

they know they're in Newfoundland.

And it's just about, again, celebrating

all the wonderful things that we have.

And I think we're... we got a lot to celebrate, you know?

This is the shed.

This is what every Newfoundlander...

You know, this is their hangout spot, is the shed,

oddly enough.

It's like an escape.

It's like a doghouse.

How do I say "Newfoundland"?

I got to get this right.

Understand, Newfoundland.

Everyone says that, but that's not helping me.

I'm gonna get my balls busted so bad.

Think of it like "New Fun Land."

New Fun Land.

- Newfoundland. - Yeah.

- Newfoundland. - There you go.

Not "New Found Land."

Not "New Found Land."

- Newfoundland. - Yeah.

Newfoundland,

a rocky island off the east coast of Canada

extending into the North Atlantic.

They might not be from here,

but chefs, restaurateurs, noted raconteurs

Fred Morin and Dave McMillan

were excited to explore

this wild and beautiful rock with me.

It's a part of Canada all its own,

with its own distinctive history and culture.

So as entertaining as my Quebecoise friends might be,

I thought it wise to recruit some natives:

chef Jeremy Charles

and his partner, Jeremy Bonia.

It's an all-dude affair.

What's on the menu today?

- Codfish. - Codfish.

Yeah. Or rather just fish.

- Just fish. - They're both fish.

We say, you know, fish is cod in Newfoundland, you know?

When you talk about fish, people just assume it's codfish.

Living off the ocean is insane.

It's unbelievable when you get out here

and see and you're in the elements.

It makes you really respect people who work on the water.

You know what I mean?

Like, guys used to row out here.

- Yeah. - And, like, you know,

you just realize what it takes to get it to the restaurant.

It's not easy, right?

Respect the fish and chips a little bit more, right?

Respect the fish and chips, man.

For over 500 years,

the icy waters off Newfoundland's coast

overflowed with a seemingly endless bounty of cod.

Fishermen from all over...

As far away as England, Portugal, and Spain...

Came here to pull them from the sea.

They built entire food cultures

around the delicate, white-fleshed fish.

And for most of its history, cod defined the culture here.

Cod was king.

Ottawa is about to announce a moratorium on northern cod.

Small independents, big company trawlers,

all will have to pull their nets

and dock their boats.

But in 1992, after years of overfishing,

the Canadian government shut the industry down.

Six generations down the line, passed down,

and he's done nothing but...

The moratorium wiped out

the main source of income for the province

and ended a way of life.

And though it's been loosened some,

the moratorium is still in effect today.

What was the spirit of the people in '92?

Think about it; think about your number one industry.

No one could fish.

- Culture... - Nothing, zero.

It went from going out to jig a fish with your family

or whenever you wanted

to absolutely nothing.

So it just, like, tore the heart and soul out of people.

What did people change cod for?

Tilapia?

Can I ask this, though?

Was it warranted, the closing down of the fishery?

- Yeah. - It was.

Thing was, I mean, a lot of the in-shore small guys

were talking about it for years,

talking about, "We can't keep this up."

Like, the factory trawlers and the fisheries

were just getting bigger and bigger,

and it's like, how do you put a factory trawler

that's just dragging the seas...

Everything in the ocean.

From multiple countries, including our own,

for years and years and not have an effect?

It was very dark times.

- But better now. - Yes.

- Getting better. - Yeah.

From what we've seen...

And I've talked to fishermen in the bays and stuff...

Cod's coming back.

- Cod is king still. - Cod is still king.

What's your water dam?

140.

Okay, that's perfect. Let's give her a shot.

Let's start with two lines

and then see how much of a mess we've got with tide.

- I got a nibble. - There you go.

Lift that. Lift that rod.

Oh, there you go, Fred.

Nice one.

Wow.

Next one is a moose.

- No. - Okay, it's on.

- No, you got a big fish. - Go, go, go.

There you go. Oh, it's a nice-sized one.

1 down, 14 to go, was it?

Yeah, go ahead. You guys are drifting more east.

Oh, yeah, fish on. There we go.

I can see him there now.

- All right. - Just keep him in the water.

All right.

Perfect. Well done yourself.

- Thank you, sir. - There you go.

- Oh, that's a nice size. - Yeah, that's... there you go.

Wow.

That's why these things went extinct;

they bite like crazy.

Here you go.

Well, I think that's

the most successful fishing scene I've had

in many, many years.

All right.

We're surrounded by water,

and we're not really a seafood-eating place.

We live in this fish culture.

It's been fishing here for hundreds of years.

And the fish was always not accessible to people here.

It was something that was always for export.

Right.

And so the fishery is changing a little bit.

I think as well, it was always just a single-species fishery,

and now that's diversifying.

- By necessity. - Yeah, absolutely.

And that's really important, 'cause we live on this island

where food security is an issue.

Dale Jarvis works for

the Intangible Cultural Heritage development office

for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador,

helping communities safeguard what they can

of traditional culture.

What's changed as far as...

the way that... I'm going to try to pronounce it correctly...

Newfendlers...

Newfoundlanders.

Newfoundlanders see themselves?

I mean, something seems to be happening here

as far as people here beginning to value their own products,

their own traditional food ways.

Yeah.

That's a big change,

and it's something that Jeremy Charles, for instance,

has been doing very, very, very successfully.

How important is that?

I think the one thing that has kept people here

in the wake of the fisheries collapse...

Like the fish moratorium in 1992,

so many people left.

And what really has kept people here

is that sense of tradition.

I think sometimes there's this idea

that tradition is static, and that isn't necessarily true.

Tradition is always kind of changing

in response to the environment.

And people choose the things that they're passionate about,

and they find a way to make that work.

And I think Newfoundlanders have always had that tradition

of making do and making things work

in the situation where they are.

Here at the family-owned-and-operated

Charles Landing,

the specialty is fish and chips.

How's everything taste today?

Really good, thank you.