The Newfoundland and Labrador fishery has been hit hard by 2017 quota cuts to two of the key and most profitable species.
Earlier this year, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) announced a 63 per cent cut to the inshore Northern shrimp quota in Fishing Area 6 — meaning the total allowable catch for SFA 6 went from 48,196 tonnes in 2015 to 27,825 tonnes in 2016, to 10,400 tonnes announced for 2017. This amounted to a 78 per cent quota reduction over two years.
In the wake of extensive cuts to Northern shrimp, DFO also announced an overall snow crab quota level decrease of approximately 22 per cent from 2016.
News of the quota cuts has resulted in various protests and demonstrations by fishermen.
The first action took place in early April when dozens of fishermen from northeastern Newfoundland and southern Labrador forced their way into the federal Fisheries headquarters in St. John’s. Their demands included a new inshore shrimp-sharing arrangement for 2017 in light of severe quote cuts.
This was followed by a high-profile 11-day hunger strike by Richard Gillett, a well-known inshore fish harvester from Twillingate and Vice-President of the Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL).
His hunger strike, which garnered a huge amount of media attention, took place on the grounds of DFO’s Newfoundland and Labrador headquarters in St. John’s.
Gillett’s demands included a meeting with the federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Dominic LeBlanc and his assurance of an independent review of DFO science/management, as well as an independent review of the relationship between DFO and the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) union.
“Enough is enough. This is a desperate situation that needs to be looked into right now. The industry is in the worse mess it’s ever been in. DFO science has been gutted and the management system we have today, when most of our fisheries are in crisis, is the same one that we had back in ’92 when the cod moratorium came down. And the FFAW, which is supposedly our union, stopped standing up for fishermen long ago and got in bed with DFO. If I can’t fish I’m no good to no one. I’m no good to myself. I’m no good to my family. I’m no good to my friends. I was meant to fish,” Gillett told the many supporters that visited him over the course of the 11 days.
Also in mid-April, fish harvesters on the Great Northern Peninsula burned crab and lobster pots outside a DFO office in Port au Choix, saying they don’t have access to enough fish to make a living.
The FFAW also came under fire when more than 50 disgruntled fishermen gathered at the union’s provincial office in St. John’s on April 24, demanding a meeting with union executive members.
The situation turned tense when the fishermen found the union office doors to be locked. A large contingent of Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) officers were also on scene.
The fishermen demanded a meeting with the union, with media present. RNC Superintendent Joe Boland acted as a mediator between the fishermen and the union.
The FFAW offered to meet with the fishermen — an offer rejected by some because of the possibility the media would not be able to attend the meeting.
In a release, the FFAW said it respects the right to peaceful protests and is willing to engage with harvesters on the issues. But we do not condone threats of violence and we take these threats seriously.
“Today’s protest at the Richard Cashin Building was organized by FISH-NL in order to generate support in light of its struggling union drive that was rejected by 75 per cent of fish harvesters. We have learned throughout this process that there is little that Ryan Cleary and the FISH-NL leadership will not do to draw attention and boost their profile. Unfortunately, this includes taking advantage of the challenges in the fishery by pitting harvester against harvester, promoting lies and misstating facts, and fuelling an environment of tension and animosity that makes it difficult to engage in productive discussion. Given the challenges in the fishery, the lies and anger of FISH-NL have only served to benefit those who wish to undermine the strength of inshore harvesters,” the release said.
“We will meet with harvesters, but we will not meet with FISH-NL. We take the concerns of our members seriously; these concerns will not be used as an excuse for a spectacle. This meeting will occur in private without media attendance.”
In a May 3 press release, FISH-NL warned of rising unrest if Ottawa doesn’t soon act on the fisheries crisis.
“So far, the Trudeau administration has paid lip service to unrest in the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery,” said Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “That won’t cut it anymore because harvesters are at the end of their rope.”
“The state of the fisheries today is described as worse than the early 1990s when groundfish stocks such as cod collapsed. Back then, harvesters moved on to other species such as shrimp and crab, but now most fisheries are at a critical level or on a downward spiral. Debt levels are also higher, and — given severe cuts to quotas for species like shrimp — many harvesters are teetering on bankruptcy,” the release stated.
