St. Alban's fish plant expected to remain closed

A longtime worker and union representative at Nature Sea Farms in St. Alban's fears there's no future for her fish plant.

Workers were told this week that the plant is not expected to open this fall, and the prospects are not much better next year, according to Bernadette Bowles, who worked in St. Alban's for more than 20 years.

"As of yesterday, no," she said on Tuesday. "Not this fall, and probably not next fall."

Gerry Byrne, the provincial minister for fisheries and land resources, confirmed Thursday that government has been told the plant will not operate this season.

"Very, very frustrating," he said.

None of the around two dozen unionized employees have worked a shift at the plant since April, when the Barry Group-operated plant went idle.

They have been offered work at another company plant in Harbour Breton — 80 minutes away — but only a handful were able to take it, according to St. Alban's Mayor Gail Hoskins.

That's left workers like Bowles trying to piece together enough money to scrape by.

"I worried the whole night last night," she said. "'OK, my cheque came in today, who am I going to give the money to today?'"

Contract promises

The plant, while operated by the Barry Group, is housed in a building owned by the provincial government.

The building is leased to the company with a contract that includes provisions on how much fish product will be processed at the plant each year.

Byrne said his government intends to take steps to enforce the terms of the contract, but said that's proving difficult — due, in part, to extended periods of notice that are required under its terms.

"You could drive a Mack Truck through that lease that was signed by the previous administration," he said.

"It's not a lease that's necessarily easily acted upon, or quickly acted upon."

While the St. Alban's plant is shut down, work at the Harbour Breton plant is ongoing.

"The information that we did get back from the plant operator, and from the producer, Marine Harvest …​ is that there's really only a limited amount of fish, and if they were to take a decision to start moving the fish around, it would result in underemployment in both plants," Byrne said.

"There's just not enough fish in the water right now," said Hoskins.

Further meetings between union representatives and the company are planned this week.

"We've been trying to put pressure on them. We've been having meetings almost every week, probably twice a week, since April," said Bowles.

'Really, really hard'

Hoskins says the plant shutdown is a drag on the entire town.

"It's a huge disappointment for these individuals. This plant has been operating for over 30 years," she said.

"They want full-time employment. And this community needs this. This is money spent locally at our grocery stores at our gas station or, you know, they're able to secure their mortgages and so on."

Bowles has been drawing on employment Insurance benefits, but says that's not enough to keep her home — where she lives alone — above water.

"By the time I paid my hydro bill, my phone bill, and my car insurance, that's it. I've got nothing left over, nothing to buy any groceries with," she says.

"And I have to go to a doctor's appointment in Gander on Friday, which I need gas. Don't know where I'm going to get it."

Byrne said the provincial government will be offering $100,000 in funding for community projects to employ the plant workers, and help them qualify for Employment Insurance.

Future is bright: mayor

Hoskins says she's hopeful the fish plant will reopen in the future, despite the "bump in the road."

"This is really the first time that there is no work, as of yet, for that plant," she said.

"None of these plants should be allowed to shut down at this point, not with an industry that is poised for humongous​ growth."

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