The debate continues over whether the provincial government should grant a licence to a bay that used to have seven fish plants and now has none.
The owners of the plant in St. Mary’s have applied to the licencing board for permission to process crab as they have access to quota.
The Association of Seafood Producers is opposed to a crab plant licence in St. Mary’s as it believes such a move would be detrimental to rural Newfoundland and current plant workers.
(File photo: Derek Butler)
Executive Director Derek Butler says if new processing capacity is approved, the stability of the industry will come into question. He states that 200 new jobs in St. Mary’s will mean the loss of 200 jobs elsewhere, equating to about 84,000 hours of work.
FFAW’s Response
(Keith Sullivan file photo.)
On the other side of the coin, the FFAW, which represents plant workers, says the quota for snow crab has increased significantly over the past few years, and that government should be able to give the plant a licence.
President Keith Sullivan says the fish exported out of the country by the offshore companies would equate to about the same number of jobs as the entire crab fishery.
He says it’s time for the minister of fisheries to make a decision instead of leaving people in limbo and causing them to suffer.
