Union welcomes provincial government’s changes to fishery
‘The minister took the concerns of harvesters seriously and has made tangible changes’ — Greg Pretty, Ffaw-unifor president
CORNER BROOK — The provincial government has increased processing capacity in the primary snow crab processing sector by five million pounds as part of changes to the fishery it has promised to harvesters.
The increase was among the changes outlined in a letter sent by Fisheries, Forestry and Agrifoods Minister Elvis Loveless to Ffaw-unifor, the union representing fish harvesters and plant workers, on Monday, April 1.
The changes come after meetings between the province and harvesters that came on the heels of protests outside the Confederation Building in St. John’s, during which harvesters demanded more free enterprise in the fishery.
Harvesters have been asking for more outside buyers to be allowed into the province, so harvesters are not limited to who they can sell their catches to. They have also been asking for increased processing capacity and more processing licences to be granted.
The provincial government has already initiated a call for buyers from outside the province to apply for fish buyers’ licences to export any commercial species in 2024. Such licences would adhere to the same terms and conditions as a licence granted to a buyer from within Newfoundland and Labrador.
In addition to the five-million-pound increase in crab processing capacity, Loveless told the union he has started the steps needed to remove primary processing prohibitions from all value-added licences.
Loveless indicated a committee will be formed to provide “timely information and advice from representative stakeholders on harvesting, processing capacity and plant employment to help ensure optimization of this public renewable resource for the economic benefit of all people of the province.”
The committee will include three Ffaw-unifor members, including one current plant worker.
The province has committed to starting before Sept. 1 a comprehensive review of all issues pertaining to the fishery, including harvesting, processing, capacity, competition, corporate control and other issues relevant to the fishery.
According to the letter from Loveless, both the union and the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) will be consulted in advance on appointments and terms of conditions for this review.
UNION RESPONSE
In a news release responding to the letter, the FFAW welcomed the changes announced by Loveless and allayed concerns from plant workers that the changes would spread any extra work generated thinly across more plants.
“The minister took the concerns of harvesters seriously and has made tangible changes that will have positive impacts for fish harvesters all over the province,” FFAW president Greg Pretty stated. “Importantly, I want our plant worker members to know you are not forgotten about, and these changes are expected to have minimal to no impact on existing jobs.”
Fish harvesters have faced increasing problems in recent years finding a buyer for their catch, added the union’s prepared statement. Snow crab quotas are at a nearly all-time high, but plant employment is nearly half what it was. Harvesters, according to the union, have been unable to land their full potential for species like capelin, squid, shrimp, cod and more because of capacity issues or plants' refusal to buy.
“Given that plants cannot fill the existing processing jobs without the assistance of temporary foreign labour, we’re doubtful there will be any impacts on existing processing jobs in our province,” said Pretty. “The changes made by Minister Loveless are just a start at levelling the playing field between fish harvesters and companies.”