With their season on hold, fishermen protest low price of crab on the steps of the N.L. legislature
With the price of snow crab less than one-third of what it was a year ago, Newfoundland and Labrador's fishermen are rallying on the steps of the provincial legislature Monday morning to demand government action on the province's most lucrative fishery.
Members of the Fish, Food & Allied Workers union say they can't afford to fish crab at the $2.20 per pound set earlier this month. Fishing season is open, but harvesters are keeping their boats docked in the hopes of getting a higher price.
About 500 union members and their supporters, hoisting signs that read "People Over Profit" and "End Processor Control" gathered under light, blowing snow while Serena Ryder's Stompa and Stevie Wonder's Higher Ground blasted from loudspeakers.
Jason Spingle, the union's secretary treasurer, speaking at a lectern outside Confederation Building's front doors, told the crowd of a similar fight over lobster prices more than a decade ago, resulting in a pricing formula that worked for harvesters — and said the same thing needs to happen for snow crab.
"We do need fairness in this fishery," he said.
"Harvesting fish is tough, dangerous work, and no matter how well prepared they are, harvesters put their lives at risk every single day.… It's what brings in new income. Not only to our coastal communities but to our towns and this very city as well. A dollar from fish is equal to a dollar from oil, is equal to a dollar from nickel. It's the same new dollar."
He criticized the province's fish processors, accusing them of acting like they own harvesters.
"Coming in with lowball offers and trying to defy people is utter disrespect, plain and simple, and it's gonna stop," he said, to scattered cheers and applause. "Now, our government can help us stop it the easy way, or we can stop it, I'll say, more abruptly."
He urged Premier Andrew Furey to tell buyers that their position in the fishing industry is not a right but a privilege given by fishermen.
"Look at the people here today," he said. "They're here because they want this future to work for themselves but equally for our province."
NDP Leader Jim Dinn told the crowd the fishing industry is the "backbone" of Newfoundland and Labrador and said the $2.20 price is "an insult."
"It's an insult to you, the fish harvester, it's an insult to the communities which depend on fish harvesters, it's an insult to the families, period," he said, adding the NDP will demand a review of the price and will work to see if anything can be done to raise it.
Gerry Earle, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees, told the crowd his union stands with the FFAW.
"While we may be in different work forces, we all work together," he said. "We work in the same communities, we go to the same schools, we do similar work, and we support each other in our work we do."
He said it's unfortunate that fishermen have to keep protesting for better treatment.
"This is our house that stands behind us," he said, gesturing to Confederation Building behind him.
"Politicians in this building, of all stripes, have to realize that they work for us. If they fail to live up to our expectations, then we will ensure they are unemployed."
The $2.20 price — submitted by the provincial Association of Seafood Producers and accepted by the government's price-setting panel — represents a steep drop from the near $8 per pound at the beginning of last season. Even last season's lowest price — $6.15 per pound — was nearly triple this year's mark. A collapse in international demand is being blamed for the lower price, following two years of lucrative fishing.
In 2022, fishermen landed more than 50,000 tonnes of crab, with an average price of $6.87 per pound, for a total of more than $759 million, according to figures from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
