Minister comments on the reopening of the shrimp fishery

Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Gerry Reid today commented on agreements reached between government, the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW/CAW) Union and the Fisheries Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (FANL), which resulted in the reopening of the shrimp fishery in the province. The fishery had closed on July 3, 2001 when the FFAW and FANL concluded that market conditions made it unfeasible to process and sell shrimp.

In late August, the FFAW and FANL reconvened to attempt to negotiate a price, whereby the fishery could reopen. The two groups were unsuccessful in reaching an agreement on shrimp prices, resulting in an arbitration decision in favour of FANL. Despite the arbitrator's ruling, the fishery did not resume. Recognizing the gravity of the situation and the negative impact on rural Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who work in the fishery, the government, at the request of the two parties, agreed to facilitate an agreement.

"I was very pleased that we were able to reach a resolution and reopen the fishery, as its closure has been a tremendous burden on the people of rural Newfoundland and Labrador this summer," said Minister Reid. "From the moment the shrimp fishery was closed, our goal and main priority was to reopen the fishery by this fall, and we accomplished this by working cooperatively. It has been a long and difficult task, but we were all committed to getting the fishers and plant workers back to work. I would like to commend both FANL and the FFAW for working together to this end."

A part of the resolution to reopen the fishery came in the form of agreements between the province, FANL and the FFAW, including an agreement to undertake a structural review of the shrimp fishery. The review will involve stakeholders in the shrimp fishery, and will be completed early in 2002. All parties will sit down in the very near future to work out details of the review, which will result in recommendations aimed at improving efficiencies, cost effectiveness and marketing efforts in the shrimp fishing industry.

"The challenges which we faced in the shrimp fishery this year reinforced the fact that the shrimp fishery is still an evolving industry in this province," added Minister Reid. "As such, we must continue to work together in our efforts to grow the shrimp fishery into a viable and sustainable industry for the benefit of the people of the province. The structural review will allow us to generate sound marketing strategies which are vital to the future of the industry. We will also develop a rational approach to the future of the industry as a whole, and we will work on key issues such as the 20 per cent tariff on product into the European Union."

The province also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with FANL on a pilot project for a production cap system. The pilot project will be in place until the end of the 2002 season and will apply to shrimp only - no other species will be included in this project. FANL will implement the system, including the coordination of the allocations of quotas among existing shrimp plants in the province.

"The pilot project on production caps will result in the allocation of a quota of product to each plant with a license to process shrimp," said Minister Reid. "The agreement also facilitates a negotiation process for product allocation for inactive plants and those with committed licenses. The system will be in place until the end of the 2002 season, and all parties will reevaluate the system at that time to determine if it is working and, more importantly, if it benefits the people involved in the fishing industry. "

Minister Reid remarked that it was important to note that aside from the agreements with government, there is also an agreement between the FFAW and FANL. "A main component of the resolution was the collective agreement between FANL and the FFAW. The government, of course, had no role in the agreements made in the collective bargaining process or the resulting agreement, which covered issues such as price, the designation of landing ports and vessel discharge. Any agreements, including how vessels are offloaded, were made strictly between the FFAW and FANL." 

Media contact: Elizabeth Matthews, Communications, (709) 729-3733, or (709) 727-3438.

2001 09 27                                     4:15 p.m.