A lot of how the fishing industry adapts to 25 per cent tariffs from the United States will come down to the price-setting mechanism established by the Association of Seafood Producers and the FFAW.
That’s according to fisheries minister Gerry Byrne, who was specifically talking about the snow crab industry.
Byrne says he won’t be commenting on any price-setting mechanism, as that is something that needs to be hammered out between the parties.
However, he has “no doubt” that even with tariffs in place product will be sold in the US market.
Byrne says the question will be how elastic, or inelastic, the price is going to be within the US marketplace.
PC fisheries critic says he hasn’t heard anything from Byrne to alleviate the concerns of fish harvesters.
He believes that, for this season, they need to look at who is going to take on the risk associated with it.
“Who is going to take the risk?” asks Pardy. He wonders if government will take on a share of the risk, will the processors take on the risk, and will harvesters be assured that there is a market for the product the catch.
