Leave sea cucumbers for Fogo Co-op: Bennett
Liberal fisheries critic Jim Bennett is worried large corporations are going to “gobble up” all the sea cucumbers in this province, leaving none for small processors.
In a letter to Fisheries Minister Darin King Monday, Bennett called on the government to refuse licences for other processors who want to get into the sea cucumber game in order to protect the Fogo Island Co-op, which has pioneered production of the slimy sea critters.
“To issue more licences really destroys the incentive for a small player — or any player — to get involved. Why should somebody invest in the front and develop something only to have it scooped away from them as soon as it’s demonstrated to be viable?” Bennett said.
“A bigger player with more capital can squeeze out the smaller players — there’s lots of ways they can do it.”
This comes as the Fogo Island Co-op has given notice that it plans to expand its sea cucumber processing operation to the Burin Peninsula.
No one at the co-op was available for comment as of press time.
King was also unavailable for an interview, but a spokeswoman provided an e-mailed statement on his behalf.
“The Fish Processing Licensing Board assesses applications for license transfers and provides a recommendation to the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture,” the statement read. “It would be improper to presuppose the recommendation of the board, but Minister King looks forward to their submission in the near future. The Minister also notes that the Fogo Island Co-op and other interested/affected parties are encouraged to bring their perspectives forward to the Licencing Board for consideration.”
Bennett likened the situation to a natural resource prospecting company that spends a pile of money exploring for oil or minerals.
He said if the government just let the big oil companies charge in after discoveries were made, small players would never do any exploration.
Bennett acknowl-edged he and King are often ideologically out of step.
Generally, Bennet sees himself as a pragmatist when it comes to managing the fishery, whereas King tends to argue the government should try to remain handsoff when it comes to managing the business of the industry.
However, Bennett said he believes they both agree that small, multi-species fish plants are the future of the province’s processing sector.
“That way, while their overhead stays the same they’re maximizing on their revenue and they’re also generating employment,” he said.