The provincial government is allowing outside buyers come in to purchase cod after processors on the island shut out local harvesters.
Provincial Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne took the action after the Association of Seafood Producers refused to buy cod, citing limited capacity due to capelin processing.
Byrne says he doesn’t necessarily buy that, and has decided to allow outside buyers to come in to buy unprocessed cod on a temporary basis.
They will still be required to do business in Newfoundland and Labrador, but the minimum processing requirement will be temporarily lifted for 14 days, after which the process will be reassessed.
Members of the FFAW rallied outside Royal Greenland Seafoods in Old Perlican this morning while others were giving cod away on the St. John’s waterfront this morning because they couldn’t be sold.
On Harbour Drive, a lineup is forming for free, fresh cod, being given away by the @FFAW. The union says merchants are not buying local product, so they’re giving it away in protest. @VOCMNEWS pic.twitter.com/8PZteqKFHD
— Renell LeGrow VOCM (@R_LeGrowVOCM) August 12, 2019
Byrne is blaming the issue on the “caplin / cod clash” and federal mismanagement. He will be asking Federal Fisheries Minister David Wilkenson when he arrives in the province tomorrow, to allow Newfoundland and Labrador to be at the table when decisions on the fishery are made.
