Crab Harvesters Demand Fair Share

April 8, 2024

The crab fishing season officially started on Saturday, April 6^th, yet all harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador stayed tied up demanding their fair share.

The Blackwood Report, commissioned by the province, demonstrated a fair-sharing arrangement for fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador. Harvesters refuse to fish for any formula that undersells their slice of the pie.

What are harvesters demanding:

A formula based on historical sharing arrangements. If the ASP formula that the Panel chose was in effect between 2016 and 2023, roughly $450 million less would have gone to fish harvesters.
Increasing share with increasing market. Historically, as the market value of crab has increased, the portion going to harvesters has increased as well. ASPs formula caps the percentage of market share at 37% at market values greater than $8.00 CAD. This is historically unprecedented.
The ability to recoup value with market changes. The majority of crab harvesters land their crab when the market is at its lowest point. If the market increases after landing, there must be a mechanism to guarantee that harvesters also benefit from the market upturn.

Yesterday evening, the Bargaining Committee met to review an offer from ASP. The offer was unanimously rejected. The Union is prepared to engage in meaningful discussions to find a fair resolution.

The province has stood by the Blackwood Formula since it was published, and FFAW is demanding that they stand by it now to fix this injustice. ASP’s formula was not designed to bring stability to the industry, it was designed to put money in their pockets. Our negotiating committee is resolute: we will not fish for anything less than our fair share.

Courtney Glode (she/her)
Director of Public Affairs

FFAW-Unifor
T: 709-576-7276

M: 709-743-4445
368 Hamilton Ave.

St. John’s NL A1E 1K2

[email protected]

www.ffaw.ca

facebook.com/ffawunifor

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The New England groundfish debacle (Part III): who or what is at fault? Nils E. Stolpe/FishNet

It took me a while to decide how to most accurately describe the situation that has been visited upon the New England fishing communities that are and since colonial times have been dependent on the groundfish fisheries.

NILS STOLPE: The New England groundfish debacle (Part IV): Is cutting back harvest really the answer?

While it’s a fact that’s hardly ever acknowledged, the assumption in fisheries management is that if the population of a stock of fish isn’t at some arbitrary level, it’s because of too much fishing. Hence the term “overfished.” Hence the mandated knee jerk reaction of the fisheries managers to not enough fish; cut back on fishing. What of other factors? They don’t count. It’s all about fishing, because fishing is all that the managers can control; it’s their Maslow’s Hammer. When it comes to the oceans it seems as if it’s about all that the industry connected mega-foundations that support the anti-fishing ENGOs with hundreds of millions of dollars a year in “donations” are interested in controlling. Read the article here

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