FFAW-Unifor is calling for the minister of fisheries to reject a proposed closure of the 3Ps cod fishery on the province’s south coast.

A recommendation to close the fishery has been presented to Minister Bernadette Jordan due to high mortality rates in the area. However, the FFAW is claiming that it is high natural mortality rates that are driving the health of the stock, not fishing mortality rates, citing the DFO’s 2020 stock assessment of 3Ps cod.

The union says the seal herd on the south coast has grown to record levels. Seals, says the union, are known to consume large amounts of cod, as well as spread parasites among the fish.

FFAW-Unifor President Keith Sullivan says a closure would be devastating to the area. He wonders if the well-being of seals is paramount to the well-being of fishery workers.