The FFAW is urging the provincial government to listen to protesting harvesters and lift processing caps, grant new processing licences and remove restrictions on outside buyers.

Fisheries Minister Elvis Loveless says he has written a letter to the union seeking clarification on its position regarding the latter issue of outside buyers.

The FFAW, however, says its position is clear.

The union has stated harvesters have been “disadvantaged long enough and the situation is so severe that many are facing imminent bankruptcy.”

Union president Greg Pretty points the finger at what he calls the “cartel-like environment that processing companies enjoy in Newfoundland and Labrador.”

Harvester John Efford says in recent years they have faced strict weekly limits, what he calls unfounded deductions, plants that choose not to process certain species, and others who refuse to buy from certain harvesters.

The union’s Jason Spingle, meanwhile, calls the business environment in Newfoundland and Labrador “anti-harvester.”