Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture announces measures to address significant fisheries issues

Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Yvonne Jones today announced measures to address the present crisis in the crab and shrimp industries, as well as a comprehensive review of fish processing policy to address issues arising from the dramatic and substantial structural changes that have occurred in the fishing industry.

Minister Jones stated, "I have been working with the industry for the past two weeks and government has been extremely concerned with the lack of progress. The industry is vitally important to hundreds of communities. Government must act to ensure that the economy of the province remains healthy and that people are able to earn adequate incomes."

"The destructive level of competition characteristic of this season must be brought under control. The Final Offer Selection Model has provided a raw material price and a mechanism for the fishery to restart. Harvesters and processors must abide by this collective agreement. Failure to do so will be to the detriment of all involved." said Jones. "In this dispute, plant workers have been held hostage. The people with the lowest incomes are being impacted the greatest. This is not the way of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. We must look to our past and remember how we have worked together as a people to overcome obstacles."

Minister Jones announced that "Effective immediately, processing plants will be required to produce a greater per cent of the balance of raw material into meat. This will help provide for greater employment levels in the plants while at the same time ensuring that the high quality demanded by the marketplace is not compromised."

In reference to the shrimp industry Minister Jones stated, "I am calling on the parties to immediately begin talks to resolve the many outstanding issues within the shrimp sector. The problems in this fishery are at hand - it only requires the cooperation of those involved. The fishing industry remains vital to the survival of rural communities. We must ensure that we have a strong industry that is able to survive the cycles of markets and resource availability. It is the fishery that has defined who we are in the past and it is the fishery that will continue to define who we will be in the future."

"There have been substantial structural adjustment in the harvesting and processing sectors and the dynamics within the industry continue to require governments to adjust policies to changing conditions. Given these changing circumstances, the department is announcing a comprehensive review of processing policy. It will require that all parties work together so they we can all benefit from our resources."

The government�s new policy review will be conducted by a commissioner to be appointed in the coming week. The commissioner will review all aspects of provincial policy from a regulatory and legislative framework including the issuance of licences, regional balance, industry stability, and the maximizing the value of our resources. This process will also be linked to the current call for federal and provincial joint management of the fishery and the federal government will be invited to participate in our policy review. Government has conducted studies in the recent past to help our industry move forward. The commissioner must draw upon other work that has been completed including the Special Panel on Corporate Concentration, the Report of the Inshore Shrimp Panel and the White Paper on Joint Management. The commissioner will undertake work to develop a complementary policy framework

The commissioner�s review will be undertaken over the next few months with changes in place for the 2004 fishing season. The policy review will involve consultations with stakeholders and a consensus building approach will be used to determine the direction required for proper management of the fish processing sector and the long term stability of the industry. The Terms of Reference for the Commissioner will be released when the commissioner has been appointed.

Minister Jones said, "The federal-provincial joint management model we proposed requires that the province conduct a review of our policy to ensure that the principles and guidelines put forward to the new joint management board will best represent the interests of the province. Part of the difficulty in managing the processing sector has been second guessing the direction of federal harvesting policy. One of the assumptions implicit in the 1997 policy was that groundfish stocks would recover in the short to medium term. The recent closures of the Northern and Gulf cod stocks clearly have signaled that this will not be the case. Our policies must be revised to acknowledge this bleak and disheartening fact."

"There have been many legal challenges and incessant pressure remains for new licenses. For example, there are many requests in the system for new crab processing licenses. The issuance of new licenses would only undermine industry stability. We must ensure that those communities with fish plants are able to survive and provide opportunities for this and future generations. The current system may not be providing an equitable distribution of benefits. The fish resources around the province are the property of all residents. Those that have the privilege of harvesting and processing these resources must be respectful of this fact. It is on this basis that governments must ensure that the economic rents from these resources are equitably distributed."

Media contact: Cynthia Layden-Barron, Communications, (709) 729-3733

2003 06 06                                         3:25 p.m.