The following statement was issued today by R. John Efford, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

I rise today to provide my honourable colleagues with an overview of our fishing industry's performance so far this year, and I have to admit the news about our fishery just keeps getting better.

As our fishery is drawing to a close for the final year of this century, our preliminary data to the end of November 1999 demonstrates exceptional growth in production value, landed value, landings and employment. This is indeed another record-breaking year for us.

This year the fishing industry directly employed 25,000 people, and another 7,000 indirectly. Average monthly employment in fish processing from January to November increased 32 per cent to 8,200. On average, an additional 2,000 people per month were employed in fish processing in 1999 over last year. Not only are more people employed in the fishery, but they are working for longer periods than in previous years. I am happy to report that processing employment is at its highest level since 1991.

The harvesting sector experienced a 16 per cent decline in employment, from an average of 10,700 last year compared to 9,000 so far in 1999. This is the result of licence buy-backs, retirements, retraining and other post-Tags initiatives, and is consistent with government's capacity realignment policy.

We have experienced another record year in landed value, which is, to date, approximately $460 million. This compares with $384 million in 1998, which was also a record year. By the end of 1999, the landed value is expected to increase to approximately $515 million on a volume of 260,000 tonnes. These record-breaking numbers have been driven by higher prices for high value species such as crab. Landed prices this season for snow crab have ranged between 55 - 70 per cent higher than last year's levels.

I am excited to inform my honourable colleagues that our production value to date is more than $950 million - another record. This record number, which is just short of a billion dollars, is due to the high value of shellfish and higher landings of cod in a strong market environment.

Groundfish and shellfish landings have increased by 31 and 51 per cent, respectively, during the first 11 months of 1999. This is a result of increased quotas. Cod quotas increased to 30,000 tonnes in 3Ps and there was a 9,000 tonne allocation in 2J3KL, the first time since 1992. Crab and shrimp quotas each rose by over 12,000 tonnes this year. Concerns have been raised about the 3Ps cod stock where 1988 and 1989 year classes make up the large portion of the stock. The province will continue to respond to every prudent measure for the management of this stock, as well as for other species such as crab which are now so important to the fishery and our economy.

Pelagic landings are down slightly due to lower capelin landings and lower herring quotas. The capelin quota was not fully taken this year as strong fisheries in Norway and Iceland satisfied a substantial portion of the market before the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery commenced.

Overall, markets in 1999 have been positive as a result of our hard work through our Quality Assurance Program. Snow crab markets are strong due to solid consumer demand and lower world supplies. Resource problems in Alaska, our biggest competitor, have reduced the supply of snow crab. This should provide us with the opportunity for another robust year in 2000, especially with our continued emphasis on quality and our commitment to build on the strides we've already made for producing top quality products.

All major fisheries started on time and in an orderly fashion this year due to a government-industry pilot project established in 1998 for negotiating fish prices. This two-year pilot project has been extended until June 2000 at which time it will be legislated into the Fishing Industry Collective Bargaining Act. This new model of collective bargaining will play a major role in maintaining stability in the industry and creating a more viable fishery for the future.

Our aquaculture sector continues to grow with mussels, steelhead and salmon being the major aquaculture species, representing 95 per cent of production. Mussel production at the end of November reached 1,350 tonnes, and we are expecting production to double last year's 950 tonnes. Our aquaculture export value is expected to exceed $16 million in 1999, compared to $13 million in 1998.

We should all be proud of how far our fishery has come since the collapse of traditional groundfishery in 1992. We have developed a new, diversified fishery that is professional, stable and more viable. Challenges remain but with prudent management measures I have every confidence that we can build on this success for the future.

1999 12 13                         2:25 p.m.