Crab harvesters refusing to fish under current pricing formula, union wants right to strike

Crab harvesters are once again vowing to tie up their boats, just days before the crab season is set to begin off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.

In a press release Tuesday night, the Fish, Food & Allied Workers said its members cannot fish under the price formula chosen by the province's price-setting panel. 

That formula, put forward by the Association for Seafood Producers, sets a floor price of $2.60 per pound.

The union held a meeting Tuesday afternoon with more than 40 crab committee chairs from across the province, and said the message was clear.

"Crab harvesters fully understand the importance of their business to their families and their communities. This injustice must be corrected, and we expect that harvesters will support leadership's position to not fish," FFAW president Greg Pretty said in the release.

The dispute comes as the season is set to begin Saturday.

The FFAW also said its members are fed up with their "legal inability to strike."

Facing an even lower price last season, crab harvesters chose to tie up their boats to send a message. The tie-up lasted six weeks, but an arbitrator eventually ruled the union was liable for financial damages suffered by processors during the period when harvesters refused to go fishing. 

It's already been a rocky spring for fish harvesters, who protested outside various government buildings throughout March seeking changes to the overall fishing industry. They scored wins on several fronts, including the right to sell their catches to buyers from outside the province.

One day after those terms were put in writing, however, the province's price-setting panel sided with the ASP's formula for crab pricing.

WATCH | Speaking before Tuesday night's press release, John Efford explains why he will not fish until there is a better deal:

Disbelief and defiance from fish harvester hero John Efford over price of crab

8 months ago

Duration 1:46

John Efford says the $2.60 per pound that Newfoundland and Labrador’s price-setting panel has established is a number picked out of the air. While fishermen kept their boats tied up for six weeks at the start of last season, action that was deemed illegal, Efford played coy about any action this year. He said there’s a plan in the works on how to deal with this decision.

If the FFAW method was chosen, the price would likely have come in around $2.83, according to figures from the union.

Fish harvester John Efford, who was the leader of last month's protests, said they estimate the difference in price to equal about $30 million across the industry.

Response from the fish processors

Jeff Loder, executive director of the Association of Seafood Producers, says he was disappointed to hear the FFAW is encouraging harvesters to halt their boats.

"We're very worried about the situation unfolding as it is, with a select group of harvesters deciding what the future of rural Newfoundland is going to look like," Loder said.

"We're expecting prices to increase. This is not all doom and gloom."

The $2.60 is the minimum price, but Loder says he expects the price to go up to as much as $3 per pound throughout the fishing season.

WATCH | Jeff Loder says no one benefits from boats not going out on the water: 

Director of seafood producers association blasts misinformation as a tie-up repeat looms

8 months ago

Duration 1:00

Jeff Loder says he’s disappointed with what he says is misinformation about the crab price tabled by the price-setting panel. It’s, in fact, a formula with a $2.60 guaranteed minimum floor price. Loder, who is the executive director of the Association of Seafood Producers, says fishermen keeping their boats tied up in protest would have severe consequences just like the weeks-long protest did last year.

Loder said tying up the boats is not only illegal but also harms the employment of fish plant workers, who have been calling the ASP office since Wednesday morning. They are concerned this fishing season will resemble last year's, when boats didn't go on the water for six weeks.

"Rural Newfoundland is on the line," he said, adding outside buyers hurt the industry by reducing the amount of money that stays in the province.

"We all need to remember that seafood processors in Newfoundland are the largest private sector employer in this province, and it's in rural Newfoundland and Labrador."

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