Rumours of soaring crab prices cause one of N.L.'s newest buyers to hit pause
Lloyd Nash was all ready to start accepting his first loads of crab when the market was thrown into a tizzy over the weekend.
The owner of Uncharted Seafood in St. John's obtained a crab buying licence this season, after fish harvesters successfully lobbied the provincial government to issue new licences.
He was even prepared to offer a little more than the $3 per pound that was agreed upon by the associations for producers and harvesters after a protracted battle over pricing.
But then, rumours ripped through the industry that some of the larger processors were preparing to offer as much as $4.50 per pound.
"We had buyers and we had harvesters ready to go and now that has all since changed," Nash told CBC News on Monday. "Harvesters, as they should, they want to get as much as they can and I applaud them for that. I just, I don't have the ability right now as a new company getting into the crab game to offer that type of money, like some of these processors are offering."
CBC News requested comment from the Association of Seafood Producers, as well as the Fish, Food & Allied Workers union. No responses were received by publishing time.
Harvesters protested for more competition
Nash said he was prepared to buy crab from Newfoundland harvesters and export it to processors in Nova Scotia. The harvesters he had lined up are now waiting to see if they can sell for a premium price to other buyers inside the province.
Harvesters spent the month of March pushing for more competition in the fishing industry — something they achieved before the start of the crab season. They wanted the right to sell their catch to buyers from outside the province, hoping that would improve prices and conditions within in the market. They also wanted new licences issued for processing crab — an opportunity that Nash and his wife, Julia, jumped on.
Uncharted Seafood filed an application with the province to add crab to their business, and it came together in short order.
"I've got to give them credit, they were really quick and good to deal with, with regards to issuing the crab as a new species on our licence this year," Nash said.
With the market now in flux, Nash said, Uncharted Seafood will take a backseat and see how things play out.
"We can probably see significant amounts of crab going to these buyers, and perhaps they end up getting back loaded like they did last year with the extra product, and that might give us an opportunity to kind of step back out there and say we're buying and shipping again," he said.
Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.
