Shades of two years ago on Confederation Hill as fish harvesters are threatening once again to protest what they see as inequities in the province’s most lucrative aspect of their industry – the crab fishery.
DFO has given the green light for the fishery to begin in a week-and-a-half but first, the two elements of the crab fishery have to agree on a price.
The legislature resumes tomorrow afternoon after taking a week off but it looks as though politicians are going to have some company.
The union and the companies who buy the crab scarcely agree on anything these days, but the FFAW says all could be fixed if buyers would agree to a fair price.
FFAW President Dwan Street
Dwan Street, President of the FFAW, says harvesters are getting about $8 per pound in the Maritimes right now, and while she acknowledges that will go down, it won’t drop to the $5.25 that harvesters in Newfoundland/Labrador were paid last year.
Tomorrow is the deadline for a pricing agreement before the third-party dispute resolution mechanism kicks in to settle the differences for them, but the FFAW says it is not going down that road.
President Dwan Street is instead telling members to take to the Hill tomorrow.
She denies accusations from the Association of Seafood Producers that the FFAW plans to ship 4-million pounds of crab out of province, leaving local plants high and dry. She also says they have presented the association with several options but buyers will not negotiate.
“I see a lot of messaging coming from the ASP but actions speak louder than words. Our offer is on the table and its the ASP that is not coming to the table, not the FFAW,” Street says.
