Hopes dashed for a new deal in Newfoundland and Labrador's stalled crab fishery

The group representing seafood processors in Newfoundland and Labrador is calling on the provincial government to intervene in the ongoing stand-off in the province's snow crab fishery. A snow crab dish is served in Montreal in an April 18, 2008 file photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -

Crab fishers and processors have once again locked horns in Newfoundland and Labrador, prolonging a bitter standoff in the province's lucrative snow crab fishery.

The union representing inshore fishers said Thursday that its latest proposition to hike the price paid to harvesters for their crab catches was roundly rejected by the group representing the province's seafood processors. The Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union accused the Association of Seafood Processors of "pulling the plug" on negotiations.

"Our organization has done everything possible to find a solution that will work for all parties and get a fishery going this year. It's clear that we need immediate provincial intervention to get this situation sorted," Greg Pretty, FFAW president, said in a news release.

Crab season opened in much of Newfoundland and Labrador on April 10, but harvesters have refused to fish in protest of this year's price at the wharf of $2.20 a pound. The figure is a steep drop from last season's starting price of $7.60 a pound, and harvesters have said they can't make a living from it.

The work stoppage has now dragged on for more than four weeks in a fishery that accounted for more than half of the province's $1.6-billion fishing industry in 2021.

The FFAW said it met with the processors' association on Wednesday and pitched a starting price of $2.30 a pound, with set increases if the market price for snow crab rises. The offer was rejected, but negotiations continued.

The union claims the association presented a counter-offer keeping crab prices at $2.20 until markets improve, with smaller incremental increases if the market recovers. But the processors' group says it did no such thing, and that the updated proposal in fact came from the union.

Both groups are calling on the provincial government to intervene. The processors allege some harvesters are blocking their peers from fishing crab at $2.20 a pound.

"Government has a responsibility to step in and allow those who want to work, to go to work," the association said. "Harvesters are not being protected in their workplace."

Crab prices are set each year by a government-appointed panel that hears arguments from the harvesters' union and the seafood processors' association. The union organized a protest last month at the legislature calling on the government to send the panel back to negotiations.

"The union will continue to consult with fleets and continues to look for intervention from Premier (Andrew) Furey," the FFAW release said Thursday.

Market prices for snow crab have plummeted after record highs during the heights of the COVID-19 pandemic, in part because inflation-weary consumers are less willing to pay high prices for high-end food.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2023.