A review team tasked to examine the province’s Fish Price-Setting process has concluded that the crisis in the crab fishery this year was avoidable, and it is making a number of recommendations to avoid future disruptions.
The review team’s report, released today, is recommending that formula-based pricing be adopted for snow crab before the start of the 2024 season.
That means the work needed ahead of next year’s fishery needs to start in the fall and early winter.
It also recommends that an independent fisheries management structure be established, as previously recommended in two separate reviews conducted in 2003 (Vardy and Dunne) and 2005 (Richard Cashin).
The review team says the current structure of setting fish prices is “not conducive to maximizing the inherent value of the resource” with “significant economic opportunity” to be gained from a market-based approach driven by a focus on quality.
It also addresses debate over sharing of market return. The review team says the 34.3 per cent market return to harvesters for raw product, is “inaccurate” and “wrong.” It supplies an example, saying that live crab cannot be compared to section value, something it calls comparing “apples” with “oranges.”
FFAW, ASP Reaction
ASP Executive Director Jeff Loder
Both the Association of Seafood Producers and the FFAW are thanking the review team for their work.
ASP Executive Director Jeff Loder says the report highlights the importance of pricing formulas.
“We’ve seen this year what happens when you don’t have a stable system for setting prices,” says Loder, and the importance of getting to the table to work through all of the issues that contribute to creating value for fish species.
FFAW President Greg Pretty welcomes the review, saying the previous price setting system was flawed. He also welcomes efforts to improve marketing.
He calls the report a “great post-mortem” of the season just passed.
He says it points out how the crash in the market occurred. “The preconditions for that crash occurred in 2020 and 21,” says Pretty who is looking forward to getting to work to ensure that preparations for the next season are done and “done properly.”
