A new type of boat had already been introduced at Bay de Verde since the early 1960's and as a result a new method of fishery emerged. This was the long-liner, a much larger boat of lengths which varied from 38 to 65 feet that could go farther off-shore. These boats fished various species using gill-nets and bottom trawl and catch rates sky-rocketed for many years. In the traditional fishery, fishermen had always waited for the fish to come to shore but now with the larger boats they could go to the off-shore fishing grounds where the fish congregated. As a result the traditional near-shore fishery which waited for the cod to come to shore was practically decimated.
The late 1960's saw the emergence of another fishery in this area. This was the “snow crab” fishery which since the demise of the cod has proven to be the savior of rural communities in Newfoundland. At first crab was strictly a long-liner fishery but since the “cod moratorium” the small inshore boats have also claimed their share and today “the under 35 foot fleet” is fishing for crab near-shore in the bays.
The long-liner fishery today has also expanded to include trawling for shrimp which has also become abundant in the waters around Newfoundland. The crab and shrimp fisheries are today the major fisheries in Bay de Verde as they are in most of Newfoundland.
