The FFAW says a new government report on foreign investment in the province’s fishery fails to acknowledge what it calls the “true implications” of foreign control.
The province released its report “A Review of Foreign Investment in the Newfoundland and Labrador Fishery” this week.
The Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture is implementing a number of measures based on considerations identified in the review including enhancement of the viable business plan criteria for consideration of applications for new fish processing licences, and to undertake an internal review of fish processing licensing with the goal of improving the collection of data, analysis and reporting.
The FFAW, however, says the entire processing industry is controlled by “a handful of large companies” which continue to “eat up smaller companies,” reducing competition in the industry.
That situation is hurting inshore fish harvesters says FFAW President Keith Sullivan. He questions conclusions in the report such as, “the province’s experience with foreign investment is historically positive, indicating that Royal Greenland made beneficial contributions to the competitiveness and productivity of the sector through investments in upgrades to plants and provided longer-term meaningful work.”
Sullivan contends that companies like Royal Greenland “are not here for the benefit of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.” He says it’s a “farce” for government to “pretend everything is above board.” He says improvements cannot be made without acknowledging a problem exists.