Tag Archives: a provincial shutdown

‘We got to go fishing’: More Newfoundland crab boats set sail as FFAW ramps up demands over prices and processing

Rod Rowe and his brother own two boats between them, with about a half million pounds of crab on offshore licences, and 12 crew members depending on these boats for their season’s wages. Before anyone suggests it, he added, their boats, the Atlantic Sound and the Avalon Run, are not “company boats.” While the Rowes and their crew were loading ice and bait today, the executive of the FFAW was preparing for a late-afternoon press conference.  The union, in its press release and press conference Wednesday afternoon, accused the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) of trying to break the union. photos, >click to read< 08:59

PROVINCIAL PROCESSING SYSTEM BROKEN, OUTSIDE BUYERS FOR ALL SPECIES NOW

Six weeks into a provincial shutdown of the snow crab fishery and no movement on the minimum price from the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP), FFAW-Unifor is calling for a complete overhaul of the province’s processing industry starting with immediately allowing outside buyers for all species. The FFAW-Unifor Snow Crab Bargaining Committee has agreed to sign off to start a crab fishery at the current minimum price on the condition that the provincial government immediately allow outside buyers and permit harvesters to truck-out their own product for all species without restrictions. “This tie-up has become about more than just about a minimum price of 2.20 per pound, it’s about the stranglehold these companies have on our province,” says FFAW-Unifor President Greg Pretty.  FFAW-Unifor has requested a response from Premier Furey by 3:00pm today and will hold a press conference at 3:30pm. >click to read the press release< 13:12