DCHP-3

barge

DCHP-2 (Oct 2016)
n. — Newfoundland, Fishing

a large boat used to process cod.

Type: 3. Semantic Change — OED-3 defines barge as 'a flat-bottomed freight-boat', a meaning consistent across most dictionaries (see OED-3, s.v. "barge" (2)). In Newfoundland and Labrador, the term takes on a narrower meaning of 'a large boat used to collect, hold and process cod' (COD-2, s.v. "barge" (2)) as a result of the province's traditional and long-standing dependence on the fishery. Clarke (2010b: 118) notes that a number of NLE terms, such as this one, have consequently undergone semantic narrowing in ocean and fishery contexts. Processing of cod has given way other kinds of fish due to a depletion of cod stock (see the 1994 quotation) and the 1993 cod moratorium.
See also COD-2, s.v. "barge" (2), which is marked "Cdn (Nfld)", DNE, s.v. "barge".

Quotations

1821
The cod fishery is also carried on in small craft or vessels, which proceed to greater distances than the barges from land, and fish for several days at a time on the neighbouring banks.
1877
On the Miscou and Orphans' banks, cod was thick during the month of September; one barge alone caught thirty-six drafts in eight hours; four other boats brought back one hundred and thirty drafts, after fishing from six o'clock in the morning till two o'clock in the afternoon.
1888
STEARNS 181 The large ones you see, anchored out there in the water, are the barges.
1975
One of the most successful ventures of the Saltfish Corporation was the floating barge on the Labrador Coast. Tom Roberts of Little Bay Islands, says, "This is one of the best things that ever happened to the Labrador because they give wonderful service, and it's the first time that the fishermen of Labrador ever had any service." [The barge] provided a place for the fishermen to sell their catch, get fresh supplies, and personal clean-up facilities.
1994
In the 1970s the provincial government moored a barge nearby, at Pig Island, employing as many as 12 people in salt fish processing and supplying longliners with fuel and water. The barge was later replaced by a shore facility on Pig Island, for both salt fish and fresh fish processing.

References

  • COD-2
  • DNE
  • OED-3
    • "barge"
  • Clarke (2010b)