Tag Archives: Food and Allied Workers
Lots of inshore issues to talk about at DFO meeting in Shearstown
Wednesday’s meeting in Shearstown for inshore harvesters was filled to the brim with conversation, as the Department of Fisheries and Oceans allowed the event to continue well beyond its planned two-hour duration. The discussion covered an array of topics, from the future of bycatch to qualms about size restrictions for vessels and the potential for oil exploration to harm marine life. Chad Payne, a harvester from Old Perlican, brought up the bycatch issue. He said it seemed wasteful for harvesters to get rid of perfectly good fish,,, >click here to read< 20:36
Northern Peninsula shrimp fishers see no reason to fish in 2017
The Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) union held a meeting for the 4R fleet in Hawke’s Bay on April 24. FFAW 4R chair, Rendell Genge, and the 4R vice chair, Roland Genge, both from Anchor Point, say that if the current outlook persists, in regards to prices and quotas, it’s likely that none of the 4R fleet will participate in the northern shrimp fishery this year. Earlier this year, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) announced the northern shrimp quota in shrimp fishing area 6 (SFA 6) would be cut by 63 per cent. Coming on the heels of this was the news that the price for northern shrimp has dropped from $1.40 per pound in 2016 to $0.95 this year. The 4R fishers say they want better prices for shrimp before they can even think about fishing for it. To give a sense of how drastic the reductions in quotas and price would be this year, Roland explained the math. click here to read the story 21:18
Stakeholders hope for more input, more preparedness for potential cod fishery
When it comes to a rebuilding plan for the northern cod stocks, the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) union wants the government to remember why it’s important to plan for the longevity for the groundfish off the province’s northeast coasts. “That fishery and the way it was, was the lifeblood of many, many communities around rural Newfoundland and Labrador,” FFAW secretary treasurer Dave Decker says. “It’s important that as we are rebuilding that stock … we keep focus on why we’re rebuilding fisheries and it’s to rejuvenate the same communities. Decker took comfort that towns and harvesters affected by a cod moratorium that will celebrate a 25-year anniversary this year weren’t forgotten in a standing committee on fisheries and oceans report tabled in the House of Commons Monday. Ken McDonald, Member of Parliament for Avalon, who initially motioned for the study last February, is hopeful that investments into DFO last year to create 135 new jobs for research scientists following years of cutbacks will help facilitate those assessments. continue reading the article here 22:15
Fish harvesters raise industry concerns at Fish-NL meeting in Marystown
Harvesters from around the Burin Peninsula had an opportunity to raise their concerns about the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW-Unifor) union during a series of meetings held in the region last week. Additional meetings were held in Bay L’Argent, Fortune, Lawn and Petite Forte. Wayne Meade, who fishes out of Grand Bank, was one of the attendees at last weeks meeting in Marystown. “I fished scallop on St. Pierre bank for a number of years and in 2006 they (FFAW) give away the middle (scallop) bed and the southern bed to the big offshore companies,” he said. “I held a license for that area for the last 25 years and overnight I had it took from (me), so there’s nothing fair about that.” Ryan Cleary, president of FISH-NL said the harvesters at the Marystown meeting are not alone in their feelings. Read the story here 18:24
Didn’t the train leave the station? FFAW will try to do a better job at communicating with members
As the FFAW (Fish, Food and Allied Workers) union faces an exodus of members, staff representative Jason Spingle said the union is taking the issue very seriously. FISH-NL, the Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador — an effort of former MP Ryan Cleary and fishermen Jason Sullivan and Richard Gillett — held meetings in Corner Brook and Clarenville this week to gauge and drum up support for the new union. Spingle, who works out of the FFAW’s Corner Brook office representing members from the west coast, Northern Peninsula and Labrador, said he’s seen the coverage of the meetings and recognized a lot of the faces of those who are supporting FISH-NL. With around 2,000 members in the region though, Spingle said there were a lot of people who were not at the meetings. Read the story here 17:22
Fish Harvesters from around west coast attend meeting in Corner Brook to support FISH-NL
Bruce Short was not one of the ones who needed convincing. The Beaumont, Long Island fisherman drove three hours to the Royal Canadian Legion in Corner Brook on Monday to attend a meeting on the formation of a new union to represent fish harvesters in the province. “This is the most exciting day in my life, to see that the fishermen in this province are starting to get a backbone,” Short said just minutes after addressing the crowd of about 250 men and women with his support of the new FISH-NL, the Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador. He said it was time to get rid of the regime of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) union, a group he called “just a Mafia.” Read the story here 08:01
Upstart FISH-NL Turns Up the Heat on Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union!
Things got a little heated outside the Fish, Food and Allied Workers office in Corner Brook when some 250 harvesters from around the west coast marched there to show the union they are fed up with the representation they’ve been getting. The group had been attending a meeting on the formation of a new union at the Legion when Conway Caines of Cow Head, a regular on the Discovery Channel’s “Cold Water Cowboys,” suggested they hold a peaceful walk to the union’s office. Ryan Cleary, former MP and one of the men behind the formation of FISH-NL (the Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador), went with them. Cleary said FFAW president Keith Sullivan made a remark to the CBC that the group interested in forming the new union was a vocal minority. Read the story here 17:37
Grand Bank scallop fishermen once again block access to Clearwater Seafoods plant
The harvesters want answers from the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW-Unifor) union and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) about access to scallop beds on St. Pierre Bank. The fishermen initially blocked the plant on Monday and thought they might be making some headway when they were invited to take part in a conference call with Bonavista-Burin-Trinity MP Judy Foote, DFO officials and the union on Thursday. Things didn’t pan out as the harvesters had hoped, however, Wayne Meade said. FFAW-Unifor representatives spoke with government first. The union then held a second conference call with the fishermen without anyone from government on the line, Meade said. Which pissed them off! Read the rest here 18:41
FFAW, offshore shrimp fleet at odds, as LIFO raises its ugly head
With word of a severe drop in shrimp stock in the prime fishing grounds off southern Labrador, the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union (FFAW-Unifor) is asking for an immediate halt on shrimping in the area. But the FFAW represents inshore fleet and island processors, rather than the factory-freezer operations of the offshore fleet. And the Canadian Association of Prawn Producers, speaking for the larger-vessel operations, said Thursday the FFAW’s cries are an inappropriate reaction, while their reasoning is misleading. Read the rest here 08:40
‘Shafted’ by FFAW, Flowers Cove fisherman tells court
A fish harvester from Flowers Cove says he feels “shafted” by his union because of the terms of a compensation fund negotiated with Nalcor, to offset the loss of scallop grounds in the Strait of Belle Isle. Edmund Moores is one of 71 people who are suing the union, in a trial that continued Wednesday in the . The Fish, Food and Allied Workers argues that the $2,590,875 should be paid out in annual installments over 30 years. The court has been told they believed the money would be paid out in a lump sum. Read the article here 08:27
For the love of cod, do it right this time: fishermen
Fishermen along the south coast of the province fear lessons learned from years of being under cod fishing moratoriums might be forgotten.And if history repeats itself — as signs of cod stocks growing and talks of quotas increasing make the news — they say the next blow might be the last for the inshore fishermen and many rural communities that have a stake in groundfish stocks. But fishermen are frustrated they cannot land the total cod quota available because local processing companies are not buying the cod when the fishermen are able to fish it. Read the rest here 08:10
DFO extends cod fishing season ‘indefinitely’ in the fishing zone known as 3PS on south coast of Newfoundland
According to Dave Coffin, cod fishermen had a disastrous 2013 with around 70 per cent of the quota left in the water. The extension was requested in part by the Fish, Food and Allied Workers — the union that represents the province’s fishermen and plantworkers. Read more here Listen to the interview on the Fisheries Broadcast here cbcnews 13:43
Earle McCurdy, president of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers: CETA good for fishery. Is it?
McCurdy says minimum processing requirements will be phased out as a result of CETA. These are rules that require some species of fish caught here be processed before export. Processors who want to ship seafood out of province unprocessed will be able to apply for an exemption, according to McCurdy, something he’s not worried about. more@thepacketca 13:32
Details remain elusive on massive EU deal as Ottawa keeps most material under wraps – The deal has obvious benefits with a trading partner with which we have deep historic ties and mutual interests. It also lessens our dependency on the United States, and based on that country’s recent flirtations with economic disasters, it’s a good thing we are broadening our trading partnerships. link
Newfoundland Crab plant suing FFAW – Golden Shell is asking for $85,000 for the crab, cleanup and the company’s lawyer.
The company that runs a Random Island fish plant at the focus of a mass dumping of crab this week has filed a statement of claim against the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union. continued
