Newfoundland and Labrador Minister of Environment and Climate Change Bernard Davis announced the launch of an independent review on how the Canadian province sets prices for seafood, as conflicts between fishermen and processors in the region have continued to sharpen.
Newfoundland and Labrador sets minimum prices paid to harvesters for certain seafood species via a price-setting panel whenever fishermen, represented by the Fish Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW), and processors, represented by the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) can’t agree on a price. The panel was established via amendments to the Fishing Industry Collective Bargaining Act in 2006, and since that time, the panel has mediated disputes via a three-person decision-making body.
The panel, intended to forge compromise between processors and fishermen, has apparently fallen short of its intended goals this year as the FFAW and ASP have repeatedly clashed on pricing amid precipitous drops in prices for multiple species. As a result of the issues, Davis has appointed David Conway, the former chair of the province’s labor relations board, to undertake a review of the panel and to determine what can be done to improve its outcomes.
“The current collective bargaining model was introduced in 2006, and it is incumbent on me, as minister responsible for labor, to ensure that we have legislation that is responsive to the needs of the industry,” Davis said. “I have asked Mr. Conway to meet with relevant stakeholders and other interested parties to seek their views and suggestions with respect to the current collective bargaining model.”
Debate between the FFAW and ASP has grown especially heated in 2022, particularly as it related to the lucrative snow crab fishery. After an extremely successful 2021, the FFAW pushed for a price of CAD 9.05 (USD 7.02, EUR 6.93) per pound, while the ASP asked for CAD 7.60 (USD 5.89 EUR 5.82) per pound – the largest gap between the two prices in the history of the price-setting panel.