When the cod fishery collapsed, fisherman Eugene Maloney’s livelihood is yanked out from underneath him. All his pride, all his life, everything he’s ever known is suddenly gone. He doesn’t recall spending days and weeks on land, certainly not in summertime. But here he is with fishing gear that’s no longer of any use. In the spring of 1992, Gene had fished his last cod, marking an abrupt end to a five-generations-old way-of-life for the Maloney family. But every bit the enterprising Newfoundlander, Gene marks the end of the fishery with a new beginning. He pivots to boatbuilding, a self-taught practice he continues today, in 2020, Gene now in his eighties.

Last Fish, First Boat is a six-minute animated film, adapted from the 2019 book, Cod Collapse: The Rise and Fall of Newfoundland's Saltwater Cowboys, by journalist and Fellow of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Jenn Thornhill Verma, with still-frame animation by visual artist, Kat Frick Miller. Teacher's guide available under Additional info tag.