Fish harvesters are gathering outside Confederation Building today to draw greater attention to what they call the crisis in the province’s crab fishery.
Snow crab is among the most lucrative fisheries in the province, representing billions of dollars to the annual economy, but harvesters say they can’t afford to fish the resource this year after the Final Offer Selection process set the price at $2.20 a pound.
The FFAW has held numerous meetings with provincial government officials to see if a resolution can be found, but to no avail.
The province says it is continuing to monitor the situation, and is keeping an eye on market conditions, but the union says the low price places all of the market downturn on harvesters and takes it off the processing companies.
This morning’s demonstration is set for 11:00 on the steps of Confederation Building. VOCM News will be there.