The Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) was unable to stave off the fishing of Northern cod in Newfoundland and Labrador by the offshore fleet, leaving the union’s hopes of securing the fishery on a 2025 judicial review.
With the reopening of the Northern cod commercial fishery by Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, 1,080 tonnes of the fishery’s 18,000-tonne total allowable catch (TAC) was allocated to the offshore sector, with a further five per cent being allotted to foreign countries that take part in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO).
In response, the FFAW requested an injunction against the Minister’s decision.
“The decision was made to try to get an injunction in the meantime while we try to get a judicial review on the Minister’s decision, because we didn’t feel that we had enough details and rationale released as to why the moratorium had been lifted,” said Dwan Street, FFAW Member Representative for NAFO area 3Ps and incoming president of the union.
“We knew it was a bit of a long shot, because to my knowledge there haven’t been any instances where a federal court or a supreme court have fettered a minister’s discretion on a decision. But I think it was one of those things that we needed to do out of principle.”
The decision to reopen the fishery to foreign and domestic offshore fleets came into effect after the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) revised their assessment models for Northern cod stocks, which saw the stock going from the “critical” zone of the Department’s model to the “cautious” zone — a zone that the stock has retroactively resided in since 2016.
The FFAW posited during the hearing, presided over by Justice Cecily Strickland, that offshore trawlers would damage the recovering cod stock as well as the ability for the union’s members to fish further inshore. This, the union said, was evidence the decision would cause irreparable harm to the fishery.
Strickland said that inshore harvesters, contrary to the position of the FFAW, were fully able to successfully fish their allotted TAC of cod, of which 98 per cent had been harvested at the time of the injunction hearing. She did note, however, that increased fishing, especially by offshore trawlers, established an increased risk for the stock to fall back within the critical zone.
“Ultimately, I conclude that what the evidence in the records before me establishes is that increased quotas (onshore or offshore) means an increase in the risk of the Northern cod stock re-entering the critical zone. Further, that offshore trawling creates a greater risk of overfishing than inshore fisheries methods, if quotas are set too high and if sustainability measures such as monitoring and net size are not in effect,” said Strickland. “But this does not establish that irreparable harm will be incurred by the applicants or the stock if the offshore fleet harvests its 2024 TAC allocation of 1,081 [tonnes] between now and the determination of the underlying application for judicial review.”
As such, the FFAW’s injunction request was shot down, but not without some vindication of their positions, according to FFAW President Greg Pretty in a press release.
“While we are disappointed with the outcome, we are encouraged that the court recognizes the gravity of our concerns,” said Pretty.
“This ruling underscores the need for a thorough review of the Minister’s decision-making process regarding the Northern cod fishery. We remain committed to protecting this vital resource and the commitment that was made to our Newfoundland and Labrador-based fish harvesters and plant workers.”
Ocean Choice International (OCI), an offshore fishing company headquartered in St. John’s, N.L., applauded the ruling by Strickland.
“We are extremely pleased with the outcome of the injunction hearing and with the ruling against the FFAW’s attempt to keep the Newfoundland and Labrador offshore sector from harvesting Northern cod,” said Blaine Sullivan, President of OCI.
“We believe that the Minister’s decision to reopen the Northern cod fishery with a very small allocation to the offshore sector was in accordance with the available science and is in the best interest of building a sustainable, globally competitive Northern cod fishery.”
With their hopes of pausing offshore efforts dashed, the FFAW awaits a judicial review of the Minister’s decision in early 2025. According to Street, her and the rest of the FFAW remain hopeful that there will be a reversal of the Minister’s decision, whether that comes at the hands of the judicial review or a change in government.
Until then, Street said a priority of hers as she steps into the role of FFAW President is to increase the union’s presence in Ottawa to have their grievances heard and their positions considered for ministerial decisions. She said that the inshore sector needs to match the lobbying efforts of the offshore if they want to see decisions go their way.
“I think it’s very, very important — and I’ve spoken to the Premier on this — that we get to Ottawa, and we try to get access to the Minister’s office,” said Street. “We need to get our faces in Ottawa, we need to be a presence and we need to be a bit of a nuisance… I want to get a lobbyist in Ottawa, because I know other organizations — just think about the MFU (Maritime Fishermen’s Union) — they have a lobbyist in Ottawa, and there’s not much that happens that they’re not aware of. So, I think if you get the right person there who’s in the Minister’s ear to drive your perspective home and be there and know what’s going on, so we’re not surprised when decisions like this come down.”
