NLIS 5
May 20, 2005
(Fisheries and Aquaculture)
 


Minister pleased that crab fishery is opening

Trevor Taylor, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, is pleased that members of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) have voted to fish under a raw material sharing (RMS) pilot project. However, he is concerned about the challenges the industry still faces, including adjusting to a less valuable crab fishery that is being felt throughout Atlantic Canada. The minister is also mindful that the interests of the fishing industry must be balanced with the need for stable rural economies.

�We�re certainly glad to see that harvesters have voted to start fishing,� says Minister Taylor. �We�re in the process of coordinating the independent monitoring committee and developing its terms of reference. But a degree of cooperation is needed to make this year�s fishery a productive one.�

�Newfoundland and Labrador�s crab fishery is not alone in facing serious challenges. We decided to introduce a sharing system when we were presented in February with forecasts of weaker market conditions. At the time, Alaska�s crab had declined in the marketplace by 15 per cent in a year, and now it�s down by 21 per cent. The price harvesters are getting is also down. Throughout Nova Scotia the wharf price is down at least 33 per cent and in some areas on the Atlantic side it�s over 50 per cent less than this time last year. It�s the same thing in New Brunswick, where the wharf price is down 38 per cent. On top of lower prices, the stronger Canadian dollar is shaving millions off product value, and less crab is going to be landed along our shores because the federal government has cut the total allowable catch. Sharing can provide more stability for rural communities, but no system can reverse such dramatic marketplace changes.�

�Clearly, no matter what anybody did this year, the value of crab was going to be lower. Studies have suggested that a sharing system can move the industry forward and remove some of the uncertainty for plant workers and rural businesses. While nobody has ever promoted it as a model of perfection, now we�re going to have a chance to see how sharing works in practice.�

Media contact: Alex Marland, Communications, (709) 729-3733, 690-6047

Background information

2005 05 20                                          3:00 p.m.
 


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