The FFAW is calling on the federal government to deliver a fair and balanced management plan for northern cod in 2J3KL this year.
The union is urging Ottawa to maintain the 80 per cent allocation to inshore harvesters.
The FFAW says the decision to open the northern cod fishery to domestic and foreign offshore draggers far below the 115,000 tonne threshold was a premature move that undermined fair sharing and rebuilding efforts.
NAFO division areas (DFO)
President Dwan Street says fish landed by the inshore fleet supports jobs in processing plants and communities. Offshore landings, she says, create far less economic benefit to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The FFAW, which represents harvesters and plant workers, is also pushing back on DFO claims that northern cod biomass is predominantly concentrated in 2J waters. It says the stock is a migratory one.
The union also believes that the sentinel fishery, which has been cancelled, should be restored in the interests of science and stock assessments.
