Tag Archives: Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne
Ottawa still hasn’t learned to choose science over politics in the cod fishery, says Gerry Byrne
Newfoundland and Labrador’s fisheries minister says he was disturbed to learn federal Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier ignored the advice of staff in reopening the commercial cod fishery. Gerry Byrne said Tuesday the decision to reopen the fishery, announced in June, wasn’t based on industry science. “The view that we saw was very, very disturbing. It is about politics,” Byrne said Tuesday. “We thought we were at a place where politics would be removed from this decision-making process, because it was politics that brought us here to begin with.” Byrne called the findings a gut punch to those working in the industry and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:47
The province says an N.L. fish plant was trying to sell rotten crab. The fish plant is snapping back
The owner of a major seafood processing plant in Bay de Verde says major inspection issues are at the root of claims his company was selling rotten crab. Robin Quinlan, president of Quinlan Brothers Ltd., said the accusations are a “very serious misrepresentation of the facts of what had occurred at the facility.” Quinlan told reporters Thursday that independent inspectors had assessed the catches in question and passed them. But when provincial Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture inspectors showed up for a surprise assessment, they deemed those same catches unfit for the market. The company was formally charged last week under the provincial Fish Inspection Act and Fish Inspection Operations Regulations — accused of moving and processing dead snow crab. The four charges are related to two provincial inspections at the plant in May and June. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:34
Quinlan Defends Processing of Disputed Dead Crab Prior to Court Case
One of the largest seafood producers in the province is firing back at the provincial government after the company was charged with processing and transporting dead snow crab. Quinlan Brothers of Bay de Verde was charged with four counts of marketing fish unfit for human consumption following inspections by provincial officials on May 30th and June 29th. But company president Robin Quinlan compares the actions of the inspectors to that of judge, jury and executioner. Quinlan believed the product — about 52,000 pounds of crab with a market value of $500,000 – would be properly stored until he had his day in court. But that was not the case. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:44
Nfld. & Labrador to research live seafood cold storage at Gander International, Port aux Basques for International Export
The Department of Fisheries and Land Resources is looking into creating new areas for cold storage of live seafood in the province, allowing more product headed for international markets to come directly from Newfoundland and Labrador. The provincial government announced $100,000 to determine the feasibility of creating cold storage facilities in Port aux Basques and at Gander International Airport Monday. Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne said the idea is centred around creating cold storage for live products like lobsters and oysters. >click to read< 16:52
CEO of company that recorded 2.6 million dead salmon apologizes to N.L. government
The CEO of Mowi, (Alf-Helge Aarskog), has apologized to the provincial fisheries minister and promised to do better, after 2.6 million salmon were killed on Newfoundland’s south coast, followed by criticism that the company should have been more transparent in disclosing information about the incident. “We did not live up to both your, and our own expectations,” he wrote in a letter to Premier Dwight Ball and Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne. >click to read< 19:17
Two years after CETA took effect, fisheries minister says Tory exemptions devalued the industry
In 2013, negotiations between Canada and the European Union over the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, included talks on how Newfoundland and Labrador might be compensated for losses once the deal was implemented. The provincial PC government of the time insisted on a $400-million compensation program, noted Byrne. “I can certainly understand why they’d take that position,” Byrne said. But that fund never materialized, >click to read<10:56
New Harbour dealt a blow as Daley Brothers decide not to open fish plant for 2018
The Trinity South community of New Harbour is facing an unheard-of predicament, as Daley Brothers has decided not to open the local fish plant for the 2018 harvesting season. News of the company’s intentions began to trickle through the community over the weekend after employees began receiving notices from Daley Brothers informing them of the company’s decision. Reached by The Compass Monday afternoon, provincial Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne said he first heard from concerned workers on Saturday, April 21. >click to read<09:27
Indigenous leaders raise ‘serious questions’ about multimillion-dollar clam licence
A backlash is growing against a multimillion-dollar federal bid to promote reconciliation and economic development among Indigenous groups in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. A group that represents 13 Mi’kmaq First Nations in Nova Scotia issued a statement Friday saying it is joining politicians in Newfoundland and Labrador to demand Ottawa reverse its recent decision to award a lucrative Arctic surf clam fishing licence to a company based in Cape Breton that claims to have Indigenous partners in all five provinces.,,, “What we know to be true is that this is anything but reconciliation. This has pitted province against province, community against community, and First Nation against First Nation.” >click to read<12:36
FISH-NL questions whether Ottawa purposely is out to eliminate inshore fishery and outports along with it
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) says Ottawa’s decision to award a new Arctic surf clam licence to East Coast aboriginal groups amounts to Indigenous reconciliation on the backs of inshore harvesters and rural communities.,, “Our inshore harvesters and rural communities should be at the head of the line for any new quotas,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “Our harvesters are starving for fish, and the feds are taking from the few healthy stocks we have left, and carving them up for groups with no connection to the resource. That’s just wrong.” >click to read< 12:07
