Newfoundland and Labrador harvesters are locking horns with processors over this year’s sea cucumber fishery.
The point of contention involves processors’ sampling, handling and grading protocols for the 2021 season, particularly involving the reduction for water contained within the harvested sea cucumbers.
The union representing harvesters, FFAW-Unifor, is claiming that harvesters used to deduct 23 per cent of the sea cucumber’s weight across the board to account for the water, but that percentage has been changed this year by the Association for Seafood Producers (ASP) which represents the majority of processors across the province.
“Whereas other years you might be getting paid for 80 per cent or close to that of the animal, this year in a couple of cases we’re talking just over 50 per cent,” Sullivan told CBC Radio’s The Broadcast.
This past June, the N.L. Standing Fish Price Setting Panel sided with the ASP’s price offer of $0.60/pound. The FFAW had asked for $0.80/pound. Last year’s sea cucumber price was $0.60/pound.
However, following the Panel’s decision, the ASP later increased its price offer by 10 cents to $0.70/pound.
The ASP said it upholds the 2021 schedule, including grading, for the sea cucumber fishery this year.
“Sea cucumber is very unique, with extensive water content and we can not afford to buy water at $0.70 per pound. It is just not reasonable,” said Derek Butler, Executive Director, ASP.
“We still have inventory from last year. The market has been a challenge and overall, given the market decline, the price to harvesters would have been down, but instead, we increased our initial price of $0.60 to $0.70. That increase helps mitigate against the market decline and the water deduction and in fact, it should be lower. We had hoped harvesters would fish.”
In a press release, the ASP said the initial price was selected in arbitration earlier this year, but it and the FFAW later reached an agreement to increase it to $0.70 per pound, adding that the Standing Fish Price Setting Panel earlier made the right decision based on its sense of the market and the positions of the parties.
“As the Panel noted, the FFAW did not counter our proposals on grading except to say the existing grading conducted by an independent company was sufficient. We appropriately addressed our issues in the collective bargaining process and our proposal was to include grading in the schedule which is only appropriate as this fishery matures,” said Butler.
Butler said that the ASP sought concurrence from the FFAW to address the water deduction and quota weights with DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) last year, but received no response to its overtures.
“We tried to address this last year. We asked the FFAW to sign a letter with all the companies, both members and non-members of ASP, to ask DFO to address the issue, to make the appropriate adjustments to the quotas,” added Butler. “The good news is we have agreed now… to send a letter that addresses industry concerns on sea cucumber to federal fisheries Minister Jordan, from ourselves, the FFAW and most importantly, with the support of Minister Derrick Bragg, the provincial Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture. We are hopeful that DFO will address our concerns, even perhaps on an interim basis for this year.”
The FFAW-Unifor said it has been actively working to address the concerns of sea cucumber harvesters that affect many members and communities in the province.
“We requested that DFO clarify how they would approach sea cucumber permits if there was no fishery, or a limited fishery due to market considerations, or lack of a resolution surrounding changes to water deductions. It is our position that it would be unfathomable that harvesters would be penalized under any such scenario.”
The Union released the response it received from DFO:
“The Department understands the concern and has been monitoring the situation and we are aware that minimal fishing activity has taken place since the 3Ps sea cucumber fishery opened on June 1. While 2021 landings for both licence and permit holders lag behind what had been observed during previous years in the early stages of the season, the season does extend until December 31, 2021.
The completion of the sea cucumber project is important to DFO and up to now, has proceeded relatively well. Participation requirements for this fishery are in place to ensure that permit holders continue to be active in the fishery in order to support the Departments ongoing evaluation of its long-term sustainability and economic viability. It would not be the Department’s intent to cancel these permits in a given year should a labour dispute preclude the 3Ps sea cucumber fishery from taking place.
It is our expectation that the parties will make every reasonable effort to resolve this dispute. To this end, we understand that discussions are ongoing between the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union and the Association of Seafood Producers and are hopeful that a resolution to this dispute can be found so that the sea cucumber fishery can proceed in the near term.
We will continue monitoring the situation over the coming weeks and months and are open to a further discussion on participation requirements in place for Eastern Bed permit holders should the current matter remain unresolved and result in the fishery not proceeding.”
“The provincial Minister of Fisheries is encouraging ASP and FFAW-Unifor to meet and discuss the future of the sea cucumber industry, including discussion with DFO regarding water content in the animals. Up to this point in time, ASP has not agreed to meet with FFAW to discuss. We believe it is important and valuable to have continued discourse with ASP on how to secure a successful fishery for all involved,” the union stated.
Butler said the market remains a challenge, as evidenced by the lower raw material pricing in Nova Scotia. The price for sea cucumber in that province is $0.50 per pound with a water deduction added as well.
“There is no more to give on price at this stage. We increased it to $0.70, in the hopes harvesters would fish, and that price increase was accepted by the FFAW just a few weeks ago. We are not in a position to buy water, the market obviously has no interest in that,” added Butler. “Ultimately, we hope harvesters will fish. The Nova Scotia fishery is underway for less money and the season continues.”
