Tag Archives: Harvester Glen Winslow

FFAW applauds new deal on crab pricing, but says system still needs fixing

Harvesters refused to fish for more than a week, until the FFAW and Association of Seafood Producers reached a deal on Sunday that included increases to minimum prices and a settlement at the end of the season. That deal will override the panel’s decision. The deal struck Sunday includes a floor price of $3 per pound for the entire 2024 season. Both sides will be able to file for a reconsideration if the market price goes above $6.50 US. Harvester Glen Winslow was getting ready to finally start his season Monday morning in St. John’s. He said it’ll likely be a few days before boats head for the crab grounds. “I’m quite satisfied with where we got, to be honest with you,” Winslow told Radio-Canada. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 06:11

Crab harvesters’ union calls for price formula set out in past provincial report

With their boats tied up and crab pots still on dry land, fish harvesters and union officials are calling on the Newfoundland and Labrador government to revisit a 2023 report that sets out what they say is a fair way forward for the snow crab fishery. At a news conference in St. John’s on Wednesday, Fish, Food & Allied Workers union president Greg Pretty pointed to a report last year from the province’s fish price-setting strategic review team, chaired by Glenn Blackwood. Pretty says the pricing formula set out in that report, which followed a six-week tie-up last season, would give harvesters a fair market share. Glen Winslow, a St. John’s harvester who was part of the bargaining committee, says the formula set out in Blackwood’s report would have allowed for a larger share for harvesters if the markets had performed better. “The Blackwood formula would have fixed all our problems, but it was thrown out at the last minute.” Video, more, >>click to read<< 18:24

N.L. processors dumped 5 times as much crab in 2023 as they did last year

Newfoundland and Labrador fish processors dumped more than 300,000 pounds of snow crab during the past season — more than five times the amount dumped last year — according to data from the provincial Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture. In 2023, processors dumped 303,202 pounds of crab, compared with 59,239 in 2022 — a 411 per cent increase. Officials have not confirmed the reasons for the increased dumping, but harvesters blame a compressed season and unusually warmer waters. The 2023 snow crab season was marred with conflict from the outset: a six-week standoff over the $2.20-per-pound price that pushed the start of the season well into May, sending harvesters scrambling to catch what they could before cut-off and creating a bottleneck of boats on the water and product at plants. Photos, >>click to read<< 09:46