Canada: In cod we trust - Newfoundland's famous fish aims at a comeback, but not everyone's happy

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — An internet search of the most common male names in Newfoundland and Labrador dating back through the ages reveals a robust mix of Pauls, Johns, Williams, Richards, Henrys, Patricks, Davids and Michaels. There are plenty of Alberts, too. But there are almost no Albertos, a scarcity that prompted Alberto Wareham, the chief executive of Icewater Seafoods Inc., a fish processing plant in Arnold’s Cove, to offer a brief history lesson of a name that has been knocking around his family tree for generations and was given to him upon birth 55 years ago. The first Alberto, he said, was a “Portuguese lady” from Porto. She was an adventurous sort who moved to the United Kingdom to marry an Englishman before they sailed across the Atlantic to Newfoundland, circa 1800. Upon arrival, the family established itself in an industry that it has been involved in ever since, one that relies upon the province’s most famous commodity, one kissed by tourists, enjoyed in fish and ...