Opposed to shrimp allocation for P.E.I., N.L. senator says

Conservative Senator Fabian Manning says he is lobbying federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea to halt a controversial allocation of northern shrimp to a consortium based in Prince Edward Island.

The federal government is reportedly set to double the allocation of shrimp the consortium can harvest off Newfoundland's northeast coast, to the consternation of fishermen, unions and politicians in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec.

Manning said he opposed the creation of the original allocation a decade ago, when he held a seat in the Newfoundland and Labrador legislature. He admits there is only so much he can do now.

"I'm not in a decision-making position in Ottawa," Manning told CBC News Wednesday.

"I'm there to put forward and lobby as much as I can but I realize my limitations in the Senate are far, far outweighed by the members of the House of Commons."

Manning said he took his concerns to Shea last week.

Tom Hedderson, Newfoundland and Labrador's fisheries minister, said Manning ought to have spoken out earlier. He added, though, that the lobby against the increased allocation may be working, as Shea — who represents a P.E.I. riding — had been expected to make an announcement late last week.

"The fact that it didn't come last Friday, that gives us some degree of comfort that it's not going to happen," Hedderson said.

"I don't want to say that we've given up being vigilant about it or anything. We are very adamant that if that does indeed happen, I think I said it before, all hell will break loose."

The Fish, Food and Allied Workers union, which represents most fisheries workers in Newfoundland and Labrador, says even though the P.E.I. allocation is relatively small, the shrimp industry has become so marginal that any cuts to fishermen on Newfoundland's northeast coast could be ruinous.