Fortune Bay-Cape La Hune MHA Elvis Loveless was recently appointed to the portfolio of Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture, a position he previously held from 2020–2021, a challenge he said he’s excited to take on once again.
There’s been no shortage of issues in the fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador of late. Loveless is coming into the portfolio during the fallout of a delayed crab season surrounding the significant drop in crab prices, as well as disagreements between the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) and the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) coming to a head as a result of said season.
He is also seeing the fishery suffer from a downturn in the seafood market and rising inflation hurting the bottom line of all involved. Furthermore, he needs to contend with the ongoing moratorium of the mackerel fishery.
“As tough as it is, I’ve got my sleeves rolled up,” said Loveless. “I loved the portfolio before; still love it. I’m not afraid of a challenge and let’s meet it head-on. I’m looking forward to it.”
Photo by JReynolds00
Loveless is of the opinion that a crucial step in righting some of the issues that plague it is changing the tone of discussion surrounding them.
“All of us, collectively, we have a job to do. And when I say we, it’s not just myself as minister, but all stakeholders in the province,” said Loveless.
“You should not be entering a room to think that the minister of fisheries has all the answers. The answers lie within all of us. If anything, I’m going to try to change the image around the discussion that this doesn’t have to be a protest. We should be able to do a better job.”
Part of changing the conversation from blaming to solution-making, according to Loveless, is building relationships with stakeholders of all different facets that make up the fishery to aim toward a better future for all involved.
“I’ve already met with the FFAW, ASP and I’m talking to some harvesters,” said Loveless. “But I’m also looking to connect with people more, especially the younger harvesters and people that want to come into the industry. I want to know what they want to do. Like any industry, you get the older folk, and eventually they move on. So, how do we fill that? Because we still have a great resource base in the province and the fishery. So, I’m going to be doing a lot of talking and a lot of listening, and certainly hearing all sides.”
Loveless believes a key solution to avoiding a repeat of 2023 is to find solutions to the issues that plagued it long before the beginning of the 2024 season, instead of waiting until early spring to address concerns, such as reaching a new price-setting formula, in the industry.
“Don’t wait until the last minute to have these conversations. We had these challenges last year, and we know what they were. I’ve ironed them out with the FFAW and the Association of Seafood Producers and others, as well,” said Loveless. “So, let’s not wait until the last hour. That’s got to be done before. So, my focus this fall is going to be around a lot of that and leading into the new year… The problem with formula, as we saw this year, is there’s a formula, but it wasn’t working for both sides. So, what do we put in that formula to protect all sides and to make sure at the end of the day we have a balance?”
Loveless thinks the dichotomy between sky-high and rock-bottom prices in the crab market is a problem in and of itself. He said that finding a middle ground in between these extremes could be a formula to keep inventory moving, while still maintaining a good income for harvesters.
“When the price is so high, it’s going to do not good things for the market, because the product has to move. And when the price is high, that’s great. What about next year? And we saw what happened. Everybody in the industry knows that. They know it, because it happened before,” said Loveless.
In making the types of changes Loveless said are necessary to keep the fishery thriving, he said that hard decisions will have to be made that may change the current makeup of the industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. He said that while the resources the province has are strong, the makeup of them has changed. He said that hard decisions, like closing an underutilized fish plant, may be necessary. In saying that, he wanted to assure that his goal is to provide new opportunities for those employed in sectors of the industry that may no longer be viable.
“I’ve spent two years in TI (Transportation and Infrastructure). The industry asked for consistency. We provided consistency to them. We provided the investment for five years. They now can go out and hire workers for certainty, they can buy equipment for certainty. This is what I want to bring to the fishery if I can do that,” said Loveless. “But I’m going to be direct with fishermen, as well. Times have changed, you need to change, but the change doesn’t mean it’s a change for the worse.”
In trying to modernize and adapt the province’s fishing industry for the future, Loveless thinks a key component is lobbying the federal government for more control of the resources of their fishery.
“It’s a different industry. Crab is a high price resource. It’s a lucrative industry, but so are the others. Lobsters in my district, I’m telling you, it’s going to be just as big or bigger than crab. But we’ve got all the other resources, as well. We do have the cod, we do have the halibut, and we do have shrimp though we know it’s challenged. Now we have redfish coming online. So, there’s lots of opportunities out there,” said Loveless.
“The biggest challenge will be about the resource, which we don’t necessarily have control of. I have issues with that, as well. In my last meetings with the federal minister, I said you should give the provinces more control over that.”
Looking toward the future, the minister believes that aquaculture will play a much larger role in the province as time goes on. According to him, regulation in the industry has come a long way, and so has the technology designed to assure adequate environmental protection for the oceans. He aims to change the perception of some who may cast doubts on the aquaculture industry within the province.
“The aquaculture industry is not just about growing the fish, it’s all the in-betweens in the supply industry. I encourage young people to be an aquaculture technician. There are degrees you can get in aquaculture, and it pays very well, and you can have a good life if you love being on the water,” said Loveless.
“It’s not just people walking on the rim of a cage and throwing feed to fish. That doesn’t happen anymore. They’ve got it under a controlled environment. They’re monitoring the stress of the fish, they’re monitoring what is in the cages, they’ve got remote control vehicles going down and cleaning the cages. It’s unbelievable. So, it’s not just about splitting a fish open and sending it to market. The supply industry is big.”
Loveless hopes that by the time he leaves office, he can instill those in the fisheries with a renewed sense of trust in their provincial government as his legacy. He claims that small steps, such as sitting down and listening to all stakeholders, will help get him toward his goal.
“I hope when I leave here, that fishermen and fish plant workers can say, ‘You know, we have faith in the government and the government is a partner here, but we have a role here as well.’ So, I’m looking forward to building a good relationship,” said Loveless.
