WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6th, 2023
SEA-NL questions what Furey government has against fishermen; digging deeper into fishery crisis
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) says for the second year in a row the Andrew Furey government has announced a review of the fish price-setting system that does not include direct consultations with the inshore fleet.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 29th, 2023
Licence holders encouraged to step forward if not in control of boat/licences; DFO investigating
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) encourages inshore owner-operators who have lost control of their commercial licences or fishing enterprise to contact Fisheries and Oceans, which is actively investigating several cases
THURSDAY, JUNE 15th, 2023
Conservation must trump profit; SEA-NL calls on DFO to close window on high-grading in crab fishery
Seaward Enterprises Associations of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) has called on the federal minister of Fisheries and Oceans to take immediate action to close a window that’s been opened by processors/buyers to allow for high-grading in the snow crab fishery.
MONDAY, MAY 29th, 2023
Trouble brewing if Royal Greenland doesn’t start buying crab from under 40: SEA-NL
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) says enterprise owners in the under 40’ fleet warn there will be trouble if Quin-Sea/Royal Greenland doesn’t start buying snow crab from them, and processing companies are not reined in.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 24th, 2023
SEA-NL relaunches Pot to Plate; public encouraged to buy snow crab from inshore boats at the wharf
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) has relaunched its Pot to Plate program to connect inshore boats directly with the public interested in buying snow crab for personal consumption.
THURSDAY, MAY 18th, 2023
Pretty over his head; FFAW leader unaware inshore fishery excluded from federal Competition Act
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) accuses the president of the FFAW- Unifor of being in over his head in calling for the Competition Bureau of Canada to investigate the inshore fishery when much of it is excluded from the federal act.
Tuesday, May 9th, 2023
Dedicated search and rescue air base
for Labrador one step closer: SEA-NL
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) congratulates board member Merv Wiseman for spearheading a resolution approved this past weekend by the Liberal Party of Canada to designate a search and rescue (SAR) air base for Labrador.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, May 5th, 2023
SEA-NL demands province intervene
in northern shrimp ‘hostage situation’
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) demands the provincial government immediately intervene in the case of two shrimp boats from Port au Choix that are being denied ice from local supplies because they plan to sell their catches in New Brunswick.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 3rd, 2023
SEA-NL demands province order ‘serious’, sweeping review of fish-price setting system
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) demands the provincial government order a “serious” and sweeping investigation into the broken fish price-setting system after last year’s token review failed to fix it.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19th, 2023
More cracks appear in government-controlled fish-pricing system; SEA-NL demands review of lobster-pricing formula
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) demands the province review the way lobster is priced to the inshore fleet to determine whether enterprise owners are getting fair market return.
Frustration to embarrassment to shame, patience lost with DFO science: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 10, 2023
Frustration to embarrassment to shame, patience lost with DFO science: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 10, 2023
Frustration to embarrassment to shame, patience lost with DFO science: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 10, 2023
Frustration to embarrassment to shame, patience lost with DFO science: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 10, 2023
SEA-NL calls on DFO to delay mandatory introduction of electronic logbooks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, March 3rd, 2023
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling on Fisheries and Oceans to delay the mandatory introduction of electronic logbooks (ELOGS) until concerns are addressed about the security of personal information and commercial catch data.
“Red flags have been raised over the security of highly valuable catch data and personal information,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director. “The federal government must ensure Canadians that the country’s food supply is secure, commercial sensitive catch data will remain with owner-operators and fleets, and that individual privacy is protected.”
The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has said ELOGs — an application downloaded to an enterprise owner’s cellphone or computer device — will be mandatory starting in 2024, and will allow the department to collect more timely and accurate catch data.
Instead of writing catch information into a more traditional paper logbook — which must be submitted to DFO at the end of a season, and the data manually inputted — owner-operators, for example, would type data into the ELOG on their cell while at sea.
The information would be sent directly to DFO when the device is within range.
The ELOGS, which are available now on a voluntary basis, currently collect catch data on lobster and snow crab at a cost of between $60-$65 a year per species. That cost will rise, however, as more species are added — including cod as early as this summer.
DFO did not develop the ELOG technology, but farmed it out to third-party developers as a “tremendous opportunity” given the market of 80,000 commercial fishing licenses across Canada.
Concerns have been raised with SEA-NL about how DFO will use the information collected, as well as over the security of commercial sensitive catch data collected by private companies on commercial fisheries.
“It’s not good enough that DFO has left it to the private companies selling ELOGS to answer questions,” said Cleary.
“Equally as concerning is that DFO is ramming the technology down the throats of enterprise owners and expecting them to pay the full cost, and who knows that will be when all is said and done,” said Pam Patten, President of SEA-NL.
DFO has certified two companies — Jobel, a Quebec-based non-profit company owned by a fishermen's organization there, and Vericatch, a British Columbia-based private-sector company — to sell the applications.
Jobel's software application is for lobster only, while Vericatch's software is for lobster and snow crab.
While Jobel has been endorsed by the FFAW-Unifor, Vericatch’s senior manager of business development is Robert Keenan, the union's former secretary-treasurer.
Keenan has been holding meetings around the province, and was in Gander last weekend, Feb. 25th, to give a presentation to SEA-NL's AGM.
DFO was asked to send a representative to speak on ELOGS, but the department declined.
-30-
SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
-30-
FFAW-Unifor election ‘democratic farce’: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, Aug. 19th, 2022
Frustration to embarrassment to shame, patience lost with DFO science: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 10, 2023
Frustration to embarrassment to shame, patience lost with DFO science: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 10, 2023
Frustration to embarrassment to shame, patience lost with DFO science: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 10, 2023
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) says continued cancellations and delays of critical assessments that survey the health of major fish stocks like northern cod have turned Fisheries and Oceans science into a Canadian shame.
“We’re past the point of frustration and embarrassment with DFO science; it’s now Canada’s shame,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
DFO’s science director for the province released a letter Thursday afternoon informing fishing industry representatives that the Canadian Coast Guard science ship Alfred Needler has been deemed “beyond repair” and decommissioned.
That’s only five months earlier than planned, but the impact on DFO’s science program is huge because the aging ship was needed to help bring two new science vessels into service.
That happens through comparative fishing, when an older vessel trawls alongside a new one — a critical step to calibrate differences between ships in trawl performance and ensure the continuity of DFO data.
“That continuity has been broken with the early loss of the Needler,” said Cleary. “DFO must clearly explain the consequences for its science program and future stock assessments.”
DFO also revealed Thursday there would be no 2023 assessment of northern cod for the second year (this is year 31 of the moratorium). The shrimp stock off southern Labrador and northeastern Newfoundland, the stock primarily fished by the inshore fleet in shrimp fishing areas 5 and 6, also won’t be assessed this year.
Frustration to embarrassment to shame, patience lost with DFO science: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 10, 2023
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) says continued cancellations and delays of critical assessments that survey the health of major fish stocks like northern cod have turned Fisheries and Oceans science into a Canadian shame.
“We’re past the point of frustration and embarrassment with DFO science; it’s now Canada’s shame,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
DFO’s science director for the province released a letter Thursday afternoon informing fishing industry representatives that the Canadian Coast Guard science ship Alfred Needler has been deemed “beyond repair” and decommissioned.
That’s only five months earlier than planned, but the impact on DFO’s science program is huge because the aging ship was needed to help bring two new science vessels into service.
That happens through comparative fishing, when an older vessel trawls alongside a new one — a critical step to calibrate differences between ships in trawl performance and ensure the continuity of DFO data.
“That continuity has been broken with the early loss of the Needler,” said Cleary. “DFO must clearly explain the consequences for its science program and future stock assessments.”
DFO also revealed Thursday there would be no 2023 assessment of northern cod for the second year (this is year 31 of the moratorium). The shrimp stock off southern Labrador and northeastern
Frustration to embarrassment to shame, patience lost with DFO science: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 10, 2023
SEA-NL elects new President, first woman leader of fisheries organization in province’s history
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, Feb. 27th, 2023
Fortune-based inshore enterprise owner Pamela Patten has been elected President of Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL), believed to be the first woman to lead a fisheries organization in the province’s history.
“As a woman I will obviously bring a slightly different perspective to the table, but my role will be to unite owner-operators around the province regardless of fleet or gender,” says Patten, who runs the Bradley Venture, a 39’11 longliner that primarily fishes snow crab and lobster.
Patten, a mother of four, has been an enterprise owner for 11 years, and a fisher person for 22. She was elected President during SEA-NL’s AGM this past Saturday, Feb. 25th in Gander, and replaces Bay Bulls enterprise owner Jason Sullivan.
During the AGM SEA-NL passed five policy resolutions, including a call for Ottawa to lift the moratorium on Atlantic mackerel in 2023, and set a quota at least equal to the U.S. quota for the same stock; for the feds to provide a detailed action plan within six months to deal with seal populations throughout Canada; for the Prime Minister to take a stronger stand against foreign overfishing; and for the Government of Canada to order an independent external review of DFO science/management in the NL Region.
SEA-NL is a professional, non-profit association that serves as the distinct voice of licensed, independent, inshore owner-operator fish harvesters in the province.
-30-
SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
-30-
FFAW-Unifor election ‘democratic farce’: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, Aug. 19th, 2022
SEA-NL calls on Ottawa to lift mackerel moratorium; at least match U.S. quota for 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, Feb. 2nd, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling on Fisheries and Oceans to lift the moratorium on Atlantic mackerel in 2023, and set a quota at least equal to the total allowable catch (TAC) set this week by the United States.
“It’s a senseless sacrifice for Canadian mackerel fishermen to remain under a moratorium when their U.S. cousins have never stopped fishing,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
The CBC reports that earlier this week the United States set the 2023 TAC for Atlantic mackerel at 3,639 tonnes, a 27% decrease from that country's 2022 quota of 4,963 tonnes.
Meanwhile, Canada slapped a moratorium on the same Atlantic mackerel stock last year, and Ottawa has yet to announced whether there will be a commercial fishery this year.
SEA-NL first called on Ottawa in late December to lift the moratorium on Atlantic mackerel for 2023, and set a quota to at least match what U.S. fishermen are allowed to fish.
DFO's science on Atlantic mackerel has been relatively weak, with even less data without fishermen on the water.
Fishermen reported unprecedented schools of mackerel along Newfoundland’s northeast coast right up to January, with pictures posted all over social media of dead or dying fish washed up on beaches.
Enterprise owners speculate cold water temperatures killed the mackerel. DFO would not allow the fish to be collected for bait.
SEA-NL has also called on DFO to allow enterprise owners to renew the licenses regardless of whether there's a moratorium or not. Ottawa has refused.
-30-
Frustration to embarrassment to shame, patience lost with DFO science: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 10, 2023
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) says continued cancellations and delays of critical assessments that survey the health of major fish stocks like northern cod have turned Fisheries and Oceans science into a Canadian shame.
“We’re past the point of frustration and embarrassment with DFO science; it’s now Canada’s shame,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
DFO’s science director for the province released a letter Thursday afternoon informing fishing industry representatives that the Canadian Coast Guard science ship Alfred Needler has been deemed “beyond repair” and decommissioned.
That’s only five months earlier than planned, but the impact on DFO’s science program is huge because the aging ship was needed to help bring two new science vessels into service.
That happens through comparative fishing, when an older vessel trawls alongside a new one — a critical step to calibrate differences between ships in trawl performance and ensure the continuity of DFO data.
“That continuity has been broken with the early loss of the Needler,” said Cleary. “DFO must clearly explain the consequences for its science program and future stock assessments.”
DFO also revealed Thursday there would be no 2023 assessment of northern cod for the second year (this is year 31 of the moratorium). The shrimp stock off southern Labrador and northeastern Newfoundland, the stock primarily fished by the inshore fleet in shrimp fishing areas 5 and 6, also won’t be assessed this year.
Breakdowns, unplanned maintenance and refits on both new and old fisheries science vessels — on top of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic — have led to the cancellation of numerous stock assessments going back to 2020.
“Poor science translates into bad management, and that’s exactly where we are right now,” said Cleary.
-30-
SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
-30-
FFAW-Unifor election ‘democratic farce’: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, Aug. 19th, 2022
Frustration to embarrassment to shame, patience lost with DFO science: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 10, 2023
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) says continued cancellations and delays of critical assessments that survey the health of major fish stocks like northern cod have turned Fisheries and Oceans science into a Canadian shame.
“We’re past the point of frustration and embarrassment with DFO science; it’s now Canada’s shame,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
DFO’s science director for the province released a letter Thursday afternoon informing fishing industry representatives that the Canadian Coast Guard science ship Alfred Needler has been deemed “beyond repair” and decommissioned.
That’s only five months earlier than planned, but the impact on DFO’s science program is huge because the aging ship was needed to help bring two new science vessels into service.
That happens through comparative fishing, when an older vessel trawls alongside a new one — a critical step to calibrate differences between ships in trawl performance and ensure the continuity of DFO data.
“That continuity has been broken with the early loss of the Needler,” said Cleary. “DFO must clearly explain the consequences for its science program and future stock assessments.”
DFO also revealed Thursday there would be no 2023 assessment of northern cod for the second year (this is year 31 of the moratorium). The shrimp stock off southern Labrador and northeastern Newfoundland, the stock primarily fished by the inshore fleet in shrimp fishing areas 5 and 6, also won’t be assessed this year.
Breakdowns, unplanned maintenance and refits on both new and old fisheries science vessels — on top of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic — have led to the cancellation of numerous stock assessments going back to 2020.
“Poor science translates into bad management, and that’s exactly where we are right now,” said Cleary.
-30-
Frustration to embarrassment to shame, patience lost with DFO science: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 10, 2023
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) says continued cancellations and delays of critical assessments that survey the health of major fish stocks like northern cod have turned Fisheries and Oceans science into a Canadian shame.
“We’re past the point of frustration and embarrassment with DFO science; it’s now Canada’s shame,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
DFO’s science director for the province released a letter Thursday afternoon informing fishing industry representatives that the Canadian Coast Guard science ship Alfred Needler has been deemed “beyond repair” and decommissioned.
That’s only five months earlier than planned, but the impact on DFO’s science program is huge because the aging ship was needed to help bring two new science vessels into service.
That happens through comparative fishing, when an older vessel trawls alongside a new one — a critical step to calibrate differences between ships in trawl performance and ensure the continuity of DFO data.
“That continuity has been broken with the early loss of the Needler,” said Cleary. “DFO must clearly explain the consequences for its science program and future stock assessments.”
DFO also revealed Thursday there would be no 2023 assessment of northern cod for the second year (this is year 31 of the moratorium). The shrimp stock off southern Labrador and northeastern Newfoundland, the stock primarily fished by the inshore fleet in shrimp fishing areas 5 and 6, also won’t be assessed this year.
Breakdowns, unplanned maintenance and refits on both new and old fisheries science vessels — on top of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic — have led to the cancellation of numerous stock assessments going back to 2020.
“Poor science translates into bad management, and that’s exactly where we are right now,” said Cleary.
-30-
Frustration to embarrassment to shame, patience lost with DFO science: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 10, 2023
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) says continued cancellations and delays of critical assessments that survey the health of major fish stocks like northern cod have turned Fisheries and Oceans science into a Canadian shame.
“We’re past the point of frustration and embarrassment with DFO science; it’s now Canada’s shame,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
DFO’s science director for the province released a letter Thursday afternoon informing fishing industry representatives that the Canadian Coast Guard science ship Alfred Needler has been deemed “beyond repair” and decommissioned.
That’s only five months earlier than planned, but the impact on DFO’s science program is huge because the aging ship was needed to help bring two new science vessels into service.
That happens through comparative fishing, when an older vessel trawls alongside a new one — a critical step to calibrate differences between ships in trawl performance and ensure the continuity of DFO data.
“That continuity has been broken with the early loss of the Needler,” said Cleary. “DFO must clearly explain the consequences for its science program and future stock assessments.”
DFO also revealed Thursday there would be no 2023 assessment of northern cod for the second year (this is year 31 of the moratorium). The shrimp stock off southern Labrador and northeastern Newfoundland, the stock primarily fished by the inshore fleet in shrimp fishing areas 5 and 6, also won’t be assessed this year.
Breakdowns, unplanned maintenance and refits on both new and old fisheries science vessels — on top of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic — have led to the cancellation of numerous stock assessments going back to 2020.
“Poor science translates into bad management, and that’s exactly where we are right now,” said Cleary.
-30-
Frustration to embarrassment to shame, patience lost with DFO science: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 10, 2023
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) says continued cancellations and delays of critical assessments that survey the health of major fish stocks like northern cod have turned Fisheries and Oceans science into a Canadian shame.
“We’re past the point of frustration and embarrassment with DFO science; it’s now Canada’s shame,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
DFO’s science director for the province released a letter Thursday afternoon informing fishing industry representatives that the Canadian Coast Guard science ship Alfred Needler has been deemed “beyond repair” and decommissioned.
That’s only five months earlier than planned, but the impact on DFO’s science program is huge because the aging ship was needed to help bring two new science vessels into service.
That happens through comparative fishing, when an older vessel trawls alongside a new one — a critical step to calibrate differences between ships in trawl performance and ensure the continuity of DFO data.
“That continuity has been broken with the early loss of the Needler,” said Cleary. “DFO must clearly explain the consequences for its science program and future stock assessments.”
DFO also revealed Thursday there would be no 2023 assessment of northern cod for the second year (this is year 31 of the moratorium). The shrimp stock off southern Labrador and northeastern Newfoundland, the stock primarily fished by the inshore fleet in shrimp fishing areas 5 and 6, also won’t be assessed this year.
Breakdowns, unplanned maintenance and refits on both new and old fisheries science vessels — on top of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic — have led to the cancellation of numerous stock assessments going back to 2020.
“Poor science translates into bad management, and that’s exactly where we are right now,” said Cleary.
-30-
Frustration to embarrassment to shame, patience lost with DFO science: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 10, 2023
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) says continued cancellations and delays of critical assessments that survey the health of major fish stocks like northern cod have turned Fisheries and Oceans science into a Canadian shame.
“We’re past the point of frustration and embarrassment with DFO science; it’s now Canada’s shame,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
DFO’s science director for the province released a letter Thursday afternoon informing fishing industry representatives that the Canadian Coast Guard science ship Alfred Needler has been deemed “beyond repair” and decommissioned.
That’s only five months earlier than planned, but the impact on DFO’s science program is huge because the aging ship was needed to help bring two new science vessels into service.
That happens through comparative fishing, when an older vessel trawls alongside a new one — a critical step to calibrate differences between ships in trawl performance and ensure the continuity of DFO data.
“That continuity has been broken with the early loss of the Needler,” said Cleary. “DFO must clearly explain the consequences for its science program and future stock assessments.”
DFO also revealed Thursday there would be no 2023 assessment of northern cod for the second year (this is year 31 of the moratorium). The shrimp stock off southern Labrador and northeastern Newfoundland, the stock primarily fished by the inshore fleet in shrimp fishing areas 5 and 6, also won’t be assessed this year.
Breakdowns, unplanned maintenance and refits on both new and old fisheries science vessels — on top of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic — have led to the cancellation of numerous stock assessments going back to 2020.
“Poor science translates into bad management, and that’s exactly where we are right now,” said Cleary.
-30-
Frustration to embarrassment to shame, patience lost with DFO science: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Feb. 10, 2023
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) says continued cancellations and delays of critical assessments that survey the health of major fish stocks like northern cod have turned Fisheries and Oceans science into a Canadian shame.
“We’re past the point of frustration and embarrassment with DFO science; it’s now Canada’s shame,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
DFO’s science director for the province released a letter Thursday afternoon informing fishing industry representatives that the Canadian Coast Guard science ship Alfred Needler has been deemed “beyond repair” and decommissioned.
That’s only five months earlier than planned, but the impact on DFO’s science program is huge because the aging ship was needed to help bring two new science vessels into service.
That happens through comparative fishing, when an older vessel trawls alongside a new one — a critical step to calibrate differences between ships in trawl performance and ensure the continuity of DFO data.
“That continuity has been broken with the early loss of the Needler,” said Cleary. “DFO must clearly explain the consequences for its science program and future stock assessments.”
DFO also revealed Thursday there would be no 2023 assessment of northern cod for the second year (this is year 31 of the moratorium). The shrimp stock off southern Labrador and northeastern Newfoundland, the stock primarily fished by the inshore fleet in shrimp fishing areas 5 and 6, also won’t be assessed this year.
Breakdowns, unplanned maintenance and refits on both new and old fisheries science vessels — on top of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic — have led to the cancellation of numerous stock assessments going back to 2020.
“Poor science translates into bad management, and that’s exactly where we are right now,” said Cleary.
-30-
SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
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FFAW-Unifor election ‘democratic farce’: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, Aug. 19th, 2022
Elections and electronic logbooks; SEA-NL AGM set for Feb. 25th
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Jan. 27th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) has scheduled its first annual general meeting (AGM) for Saturday, Feb. 25th, at the Albatross Hotel in Gander, and will feature an election for a new president and regional reps.
“Nominations open today for enterprise owners willing to step up for their fleets and the future of the inshore fishery,” says Ryan Cleary, Executive Director of SEA-NL. “The leaders we need must not be bought and paid for or out for themselves, but focused on the overall health and direction of the inshore as a whole.”
The election of a new SEA-NL president was trigged earlier this month with the resignation of Jason Sullivan, SEA-NL’s first president elected at the 2022 founding convention.
Sullivan initially took a leave of absence from SEA-NL to run for the FFAW presidency, but later resigned as part of a legal challenge of the election process.
All SEA-NL members in good standing are eligible to nominate a candidate, or to throw their hat in the ring.
During the AGM SEA-NL will also hold elections for regional representatives in the fishing zones adjacent to the province — including 2J off Labrador, 3K off the northeast coast, 3L off the east coast, 3Ps off the south coast, and 4R/3Pn off the west/southwest coasts.
Candidates are encouraged to declare their intention to run ahead of the AGM.
Besides elections, SEA-NL will hold sessions on electronic logbooks that DFO intends to make mandatory in 2024, and the ever-growing seal herds decimating commercial fish stock. A number of policy resolutions will also be debated.
A more detailed agenda will be released prior to the AGM.
SEA-NL is a professional association representing the distinct voice of the province’s more than 3,200 inshore enterprise owners.
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SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
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FFAW-Unifor election ‘democratic farce’: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, Aug. 19th, 2022
SEA-NL condemns FFAW-Unifor election; union credibility spent
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Jan. 6th, 2023
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) condemns the election Thursday of FFAW-Unifor president Greg Pretty, saying the corrupt process undermines faith in democracy, and the union’s ability to hold governments to account.
“The election reeked of hypocrisy, and the FFAW’s credibility in this province has been spent,” says Merv Wiseman, a local expert on organizational governance and a member of SEA-NL’s board of directors.
“The FFAW cannot hold the federal or provincial governments to account for fisheries management when the union’s own governance is a joke to the very industry it represents.”
On Thursday, Greg Pretty was elected president of the FFAW-Unifor — the province’s largest private-sector union with 15,000 members, including workers in all sectors of the commercial fishing industry.
Pretty, who’s been with the FFAW since 1979, was endorsed for president by the union’s executive board on Dec. 1st, within hours of former president Keith Sullivan’s surprise resignation.
The union’s election committee, chaired by Pretty’s ex-wife Tina Pretty, only informed the other two candidates — Dave Callahan, and Jason Sullivan — of their eligibly status two days before the election.
Sullivan’s candidacy was rejected because of his affiliation with FISH-NL, a rival union to the FFAW that closed more than three years ago. While Callahan’s candidacy was approved, he wasn’t supplied voter contact information.
Only a few dozen members of the FFAW-Unifor’s joint council — made up of the union’s inshore and offshore/industrial councils — were eligible to vote in the election. Pretty won the vote 43 to 11.
As a professional association representing licensed inshore enterprise owners, most of SEA-NL’s membership are also members of the FFAW-Unifor, which negotiates fish prices on behalf of the inshore fleet.
“SEA-NL had an interest in the FFAW election as much as any fisherman,” said Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
Over the coming days SEA-NL will lay out the process for electing a president to replace Jason Sullivan, who initially took a leave of absence from his position to run in the FFAW-Unior election, but later resigned.
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SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
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FFAW-Unifor election ‘democratic farce’: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, Aug. 19th, 2022
SEA-NL calls on Ottawa to lift moratorium on Atlantic mackerel
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, Dec. 27th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling on Fisheries and Oceans Canada to lift the moratorium on Atlantic mackerel in 2023, and establish a quota at least equal to the United States.
“DFO’s decision earlier this year to slap a moratorium on the Atlantic mackerel fishery while American fishermen continued to fish the same stock — combined with relatively weak science, and then even less data without fishermen on the water — was wrong from the get-go,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s executive director.
“Fishermen also reported unprecedented amounts of mackerel from various year classes in waters around Newfoundland and Labrador this fall — reflecting a strong, healthy stock,” added Cleary. “DFO must correct its mistake, and reopen the Atlantic mackerel fishery in 2023.”
In March, federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Joyce Murray ordered a moratorium on the Atlantic mackerel commercial/bait fisheries in Atlantic Canada and Quebec, even as the U.S. continued fishing the same stock with a 4,963-tonne quota.
The American quota for 2023 has been set at 3,629 tonnes.
Murray has yet to say whether the Canadian moratorium will be extended, but she has reportedly been trying to land a joint management agreement with the United States to manage the mackerel stock. Formal talks between Canada and the U.S. are scheduled for February.
DFO has also denied inshore enterprise owners the right to renew their mackerel licenses, with department officials explaining the move as administrative in light of this year's moratorium.
“The issue comes down to trust between mackerel fishermen and DFO, and the fact there is none,” said Cleary.
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SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
-30-
FFAW-Unifor election ‘democratic farce’: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, Aug. 19th, 2022
SEA-NL congratulates provincial Liberal Party on World Fisheries Day
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, Nov. 21st, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) congratulates the provincial Liberal Party on World Fisheries Day for passing resolutions to have cod declared a heritage fish, a call for search and rescue resources for Labrador, and a review of the rules to become an inshore skipper.
“It’s great to see the wild commercial fisheries on the political agenda of the ruling party,” says Ryan Cleary, Executive Director of SEA-NL. “The wild fisheries are what brought us here, and the wild fisheries will keep us here. That must never be forgotten.”
The provincial Liberal Party passed the three fishery-related resolutions during its weekend convention in Gander. The resolutions urge the Liberal government of Premier Andrew Furey to take action, but they’re not binding on his administration.
The resolution to declare cod as a provincial heritage fish is meant to instil pride, and speed up stock rebuilding efforts as a means to address food security.
The resolution involving search and rescue resources for Labrador specifically asks for 5-Wing Goose Bay to be designated a primary search and rescue (SAR) base. Labrador represents one of the largest regions in Canada without dedicated surface or aeronautical SAR resources.
The final resolution calls for a review of the Processional Fish Harvesters Act (1997), which governs the Professional Fish Harvesters Certification Board, the governing body for fish harvester certification in this province.
The resolution says harvesters are subject to “exceptionally stringent certification criteria,” with new entrants reaching crisis proportions, and calls on government to undertake an immediate public review.
“The wild fisheries deserve priority attention from all sectors, and in passing these three resolutions the Liberal party deserves to be commended — especially on World Fisheries Day,” said Cleary. "Well done."
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SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
-30-
FFAW-Unifor election ‘democratic farce’: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, Aug. 19th, 2022
Seal summit fails to produce action plan: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, Nov. 9th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) says while federal officials maintain Ottawa has changed its tune regarding the negative impact of seals on East Coast fish stocks, there is still no plan to address the problem.
“A change in tone remains just talk without a plan to back it up,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director. “Until Ottawa produces a game plan with clear objectives and timelines to deal with the rising seal population, events like this week’s Seal Summit in St. John’s must be seen as window-dressing.”
A two-day seal summit wrapped up Wednesday in St. John’s with an open call by federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Joyce Murray for proposals to study seals in the marine ecosystem.
Murray first announced the summit this past May following the release of an independent report that recommended a forum to overcome gaps in seal science for commercial fisheries, and to improve the use of seal data gathered by the inshore fleet.
The seal science presented at the summit was alarming, and clearly incomplete.
Of the six species of seal in Atlantic Canadian waters, DFO only has recent population estimates for two — harp and grey seals.
The number of harps in the northwest Atlantic was pegged at 7.6 million in 2019 (up from 5.5 million in 2001), with indications the herd is increasing due to an exploding pregnancy rate.
The grey seal population off the East Coast in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off southern Newfoundland numbered 366,400 in 2021, a huge jump from 15,000 in the 1960s.
The last survey of hooded seals in 2006 put the number of animals at 593,500, although the species is considered “data-poor.” DFO science also considers itself data-poor for bearded, harbour, and ringed seals.
DFO says there appear to be new "colonies" of grey seals — which are threatening groundfish stocks such as cod in the Gulf of St. Lawrence— as well as “river seals” or animals that take up year-round residence in some rivers
“The irony wasn’t lost on anyone at the summit that seals are a DFO success story in terms of fisheries management at the same time that roughly nine million of them are eating the East Coast fishery out of salt-box house and home,” said Cleary.
DFO’s leading seal scientist, Dr. Garry Stenson, said as late as last year the seal population is not a major factor in declining fish stocks.
However, the department provided information this week that stated seals at current population levels are impacting the recovery of groundfish and pelagic stocks, despite the fact there’s been no fundamental change in seal science.
“Contradictory statements like these leave little wonder people are skeptical of DFO and its seal science,” said Cleary.
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SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
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FFAW-Unifor election ‘democratic farce’: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, Aug. 19th, 2022
Summit or same-old, jury out on DFO’s latest move on seals: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, Nov. 7th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) will be represented at this week’s Seal Summit in St. John’s, and is eager to learn whether the event will lead to clear objectives and an action plan.
“DFO Minister Joyce Murray took a monumental step earlier this year by acknowledging seals eat fish, and skippers now want to hear what Ottawa is prepared to do about it?” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The next two days will reveal whether the federal government will put words to actions, and we’re going in with a positive attitude,” added Cleary, who will attend the summit with board member Merv Wiseman.
The summit is by invitation only, and is scheduled for Nov. 8th and 9th in St. John’s.
In April, a federal seal task team recommended a science forum to overcome gaps in seal science for commercial fisheries, and to improve the use of seal data gathered by the inshore fleet. Murray announced the seal summit in May,
The task team also recommended transparency, although the seal summit’s agenda had not been released as of Monday afternoon.
DFO scientists have said that almost eight million harp seals have little or no direct impact on stocks like northern cod. But they also appear to minimize the indirect impact that millions of seals consuming millions of tonnes of seafood a year have on commercial fish stocks.
In 2017, the entire NL fishery, inshore and offshore, landed just under 200,000 tonnes of all species.
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SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
-30-
FFAW-Unifor election ‘democratic farce’: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, Aug. 19th, 2022
SEA-NL renews call for improved search and rescue for Labrador; federal inquiry into fishing vessel safety
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday Nov. 4th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) joins in the renewed call for more search and rescue resources for Labrador and a federal inquiry into fishing vessel safety — encouraging other stakeholders like the FFAW-Unifor to do the same.
“Safety at sea is a life-and-death issue that demands all hands on deck,” says Merv Wiseman, a member of SEA-NL’s board of directors, and an outspoken advocate for search and rescue/fishing vessel safety.
“The lives of mariners off Labrador are as important as the lives of mariners off Newfoundland, and search and rescue resources must reflect that.”
This past May SEA-NL wrote Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to formally request a commission of inquiry into fishing vessel safety, and search and rescue response in this province.
The same call was echoed again this week by Janette Russell, the mother of a Marc Russell, who disappeared in the waters off Mary's Harbour with crew mate Joey Jenkins in September 2021 aboard the 28-foot boat Island Lady.
In a keynote address to a symposium organized by the NL Fish Harvesters Safety Association in St. John’s, Russell called for a federal inquiry into fishing vessel safety, and for the Canadian military to air resources to 5 Wing Goose Bay.
“All hands connected to the fishery in any way must come together for this to happen,” said Wiseman, who was initially invited to the symposium, but the invitation was later rescinded by the FFAW.
In response to SEA-NL’s letter to the Prime Minister, Julie Gascon, Transport Canada’s Director General, Marine Safety and Security, replied in July to say there are currently no plans and no need for an inquiry.
Given studies into DFO policy and maritime search and rescue already carried out by parliamentary committees, Gascon wrote “… it is felt another full inquiry, focused solely on Newfoundland and Labrador is unnecessary at this time.”
Said Wiseman, “The bureaucratic response does not reflect the live-and-death need for search and rescue. We await the Prime Minister’s response.”
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SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
-30-
FFAW-Unifor election ‘democratic farce’: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, Aug. 19th, 2022
Provincial report into foreign control of fishery misses boat completely: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Thursday, Oct. 27th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) says a provincial government review of foreign investment in the fish processing sector misses the boat entirely in terms of addressing the extent of foreign control and corporate concentration.
“The report certainly has nice pictures,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director. “Beyond that the takeaway about foreign control and corporate concentration in the fishing industry is that Minister Derrick Bragg missed his calling as a window-dresser.”
The report of foreign investment in the processing sector comes more than two years after the province approved Royal Greenland’s takeover of Quinlan Brothers and St. Anthony Seafoods in September 2020 upon recommendation of the Fish Processing Licensing Board earlier that month.
In recommending approval of the purchase, the board warned the level of foreign investment by companies that are normally Newfoundland and Labrador’s competitors in the world market was getting to be “significant.”
The provincial government ordered a review of foreign investment a year later in September 2021 — two weeks after SEA-NL wrote the premier asking for one to coincide with an ongoing federal review of foreign ownership of offshore fishing licenses.
But the provincial government report highlighted that the province’s historic experience with foreign investment in the processing sector has been positive, praising Royal Greenland’s “beneficial contributions” to competition and productivity within the sector.
Moving forward, the report recommends processors be made to submit annual information on shareholder and corporate structure, as well as data on beneficial ownership, which refers to who actually benefits from a fishing/processing license.
“SEA-NL’s message was for complete transparency, for the province to consult as broadly as possible, and for no stone to be left unturned to reveal the true extent of foreign control/corporate concentration within our commercial fisheries,” said Cleary. “That message was ignored.”
Royal Greenland — along with Ocean Choice International, and the Barry Group — controls most of all fish (and shellfish) processing in the province.
The companies are also widely believed to control an unknown number of inshore fishing licences through so-called controlling agreements “whereby a person or corporation other than the named license-holder controls, influences and benefits from the license.”
Those controlling agreements are said to be rampant in Newfoundland and Labrador’s inshore fishery, which should set off alarm bells regarding food security, and the province's ability to economically capitalize on the inshore fishery.
The province released another review recently of the province’s fish price-setting model, which also didn’t address the impact that corporate concentration and foreign-control has over prices or hold public meetings.
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SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
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FFAW-Unifor election ‘democratic farce’: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, Aug. 19th, 2022
Science fishery or FFAW quota, DFO refusal to release catch data from sentinel fisheries raises conflict of interest concerns
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Wednesday, Oct. 19th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) accuses Fisheries and Oceans of treating the FFAW-run, science-based sentinel cod fisheries like a commercial quota in refusing to release catch data — raises serious conflict of interest concerns.
“DFO says on one hand the sentinel fisheries are for science, but on the other hand refuses to release details under federal Treasury Board guidelines for the release of commercial catch information,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“DFO seems to be saying the FFAW has a cod quota, which raises serious questions of conflict of interest between the union and inshore owner-operators.”
The sentinel or test cod fisheries in waters around the province have been run by the FFAW-Unifor under contract to Ottawa since the mid-1990s as a means for fishermen to keep an eye on adjacent cod stocks in the absence of commercial fisheries.
But DFO has refused to release the amount of cod caught in this year’s sentinel fisheries under a federal policy known as the the “rule of 5”, which states there must be a minimum of five enterprise owners and five buyers involved for catch information to be released.
While dozens of inshore enterprises take part in the sentinel cod fisheries every year, DFO says there are fewer than five buyers for sentinel-caught cod in 2022, the first year the department has refused to release the sentinel catch.
In 2021, 70 tonnes of cod were caught in the sentinel fisheries, although the tonnage reached as high as 263 tonnes in 2015.
Sentinel fisheries contracts were worth more than $1.1 million in 2017 to the FFAW, which also keeps the money from the sale of the cod.
Conflict of interest concerns have been raised about where the union sells the cod, the price per pound, and how the price is negotiated considering the FFAW’s role as bargaining agent for the inshore fleet, unionized plant workers where cod is processed, and workers aboard offshore trawlers that fish cod off the south coast.
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SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
-30-
FFAW-Unifor election ‘democratic farce’: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, Aug. 19th, 2022
SEA-NL questions legitimacy of fish pricing review; skippers not involved, study wasn’t broad enough
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, Oct. 17th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) questions the legitimacy of the review of the province’s broken fish price-setting system when the consultant didn’t consult inshore skippers.
“The consultant didn't hold a single meeting with the more than 3,200 licensed inshore enterprise owners in this province when their livelihoods hang on the price of fish,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“Usually when government considers changing laws they consult people, but that didn’t happen with the fish pricing review and the inshore fleet, which raises the question whether this government sees fishermen as people. That sounds as ludicrous as not including owner operators in the review of fish pricing.”
The report of the review of this province's legislated fish price-setting system recommends tweaking the existing final offer-selection model, as well as continuing with the ban on strikes and lockouts.
The report also recommends negotiations begin this fall towards developing a formula to determine the 2023 price of snow crab, similar to the formulas that determine lobster and halibut prices.
The consultant rejected the idea of an electronic auction pilot project, and didn’t entertain the suggestion of outside buyers, which apparently fell outside the review’s mandate. So too did the control that some processors (foreign and domestic) have over inshore boats, as well as the exclusion of fish pricing from the federal Competition Act.
“Price is irrelevant if there's no buyer, which is the other piece of the collective-bargaining puzzle, and government didn’t even go down that road,” Cleary said.
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SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
-30-
FFAW-Unifor election ‘democratic farce’: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, Aug. 19th, 2022
SEA-NL applauds former fisherman’s appointment as Opposition critic for Fisheries and Oceans
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, Oct. 13th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) says Conservative MP Clifford Small’s appointment as Opposition critic for Fisheries and Oceans/the Canadian Coast Guard is good news for the province’s wild fisheries.
“As the son of an inshore fisherman, and a former skipper himself, Clifford Small understands the wild commercial fisheries better than any politician of any political stripe,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“What better MP to hold the Government of Canada to account for better fishery policy, science, and search and rescue than a former fisherman who can relate from the deck of a boat.”
Newly elected federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre unveiled his shadow cabinet Wednesday, with Small assigned critic for Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard. Small will face off in the Commons against DFO Minister Joyce Murray, a British Columbia MP.
Originally from Wild Cove, White Bay, Small fished snow crab, northern shrimp, and seals.
Small was elected Conservative MP for the central Newfoundland riding of Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame in the September 2021 federal election, and serves on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.
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SEA-NL recommends electronic fish auction pilot project for 2023 season
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Sept. 23rd, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) questions FFAW-Unifor accountability in light of the union executive’s election earlier today of long-time west coast staff-rep Jason Spingle to the position of secretary-treasurer.
“Where is the accountability when the FFAW executive elects a new secretary-treasurer who was a key figure in an unprecedented court case in which the union was shown to have deceived its members?” questions Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
The FFAW executive — including executive board, and inshore and industrial-retail councils — met this morning in St. John’s, and elected Jason Spingle, a 24-year union staff-rep for the province’s west coast, as the new secretary-treasurer.
Spingle replaces Robert Keenan, who unexpectedly resigned in July.
In 2016, the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador ruled in favour of 71 scallop fishermen who took their union, the FFAW-Unifor, to court over a $2.6-million compensation fund for lost fishing grounds. The decision was later upheld on appeal.
Nalcor set up the fund to compensate fishermen for an under-sea cable laid across the Strait of Bell Isle to bring Muskrat Falls hydroelectricity to the island.
The fishermen argued the money should be shared through lump sum payments among everyone who held a scallop licence. The union said the money should be paid out over 30 years to active fishers who could demonstrate annual losses.
During the trial Spingle admitted the union was a year into negotiations with Nalcor before it asked fishermen to sign consent forms.
“Jason Spingle’s election does little to instil confidence in such an important position,” says Merv Wiseman, a member of SEA-NL’s executive board with extensive knowledge in organizational governance.
Wiseman has described the FFAW election as a “democratic farce.”
The roughly 2,400 FFAW members who signed membership cards in 2019 in support of FISH-NL, a rival union at the time, were deemed ineligible by the union to nominate candidates or to run for secretary-treasurer.
SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
-30-
FFAW-Unifor election ‘democratic farce’: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, Aug. 19th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) calls the election process followed by the FFAW-Unifor to select a new secretary-treasurer a democratic farce, with thousands of members blocked from taking part in the vote.
“The FFAW election is an attack on democracy in terms of a free, open, and transparent election given the absolute corruption of what should be the union’s prized democratic process,” says Merv Wiseman, a member of SEA-NL’s executive board with extensive experience in organizational governance.
“The broader public should be concerned anytime we see democratic rights and freedoms usurped,” he added. “The FFAW’s voting practice is a decline in democracy, and should be condemned by all those who value the democratic process.”
The FFAW called an election for a new secretary-treasurer, the union’s second-in-command, following the unexpected July 29th resignation of Robert Keenan, who had been in the position since 2020.
However, the roughly 2,400 FFAW members who signed membership cards in 2019 in support of FISH-NL, a rival union at the time, are deemed ineligible by the union to nominate candidates or to run for secretary-treasurer.
Nominations close Aug. 26th, and to date the only candidates to step forward are two FFAW paid employees.
The actual election will be held Aug. 31st, and only members of the union’s executive board, and inshore and industrial-retail-offshore councils are eligible to vote.
“SEA-NL has a vested interest in the FFAW election because the union also represents our enterprise-owner members on fundamental issues like non-core groundfish licenses, and the right of fishermen to sell them or pass them on,” Wiseman said. “It’s in the best interests of SEA-NL members that enterprise owners are well represented."
Formed in 2016, FISH-NL was a recognized union until its disbandment in December 2019. SEA-NL was formed in the spring of 2021 as a professional association to serve as the distinct voice of the province’s 3,200 licensed inshore enterprise owners in all fleets.
-30-
SEA-NL recommends electronic fish auction pilot project for 2023 season
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Sept. 23rd, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) recommends the introduction of an electronic auction pilot project for the 2023 fishing season to address the industry chaos of recent months, and help achieve fair market share for the inshore fleet.
“This province is the only jurisdiction I know of outside of China or North Korea where electronic auctions and other free-market systems are not used to set the price of fish,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director. “That alone tells you there’s a problem.”
SEA-NL recommended an electronic auction pilot project in its recent submission to a review of the province’s legislated system of fish pricing. That system is known as final-offer selection, and involves a government-appointed panel setting the price of fish when the union and processors can’t agree.
The province called the review in late July after prices set by the panel failed to kick-start fisheries like northern shrimp, sea cucumber, and capelin. Enterprise owners either wouldn’t fish for the panel price, or processors wouldn’t buy for it.
Under SEA-NL’s proposal, a modified final-offer selection bargaining model would continue to set the minimum price for fish based on average quality, while an electronic auction — involving outside buyers — would establish the highest possible price by allowing for the interplay of full market forces.
“An auction system would also address the high level of control processors have over some enterprise owners in that catches would be sold to the highest bidder — not the financier of the fishing operation,” said Cleary.
A 1998 provincial task force report by local economist David Vardy first recommended the final-offer selection method of fish pricing as a pilot project to run parallel with an electronic auction pilot project. Only the auction didn’t get off the ground for almost 10 years, and was later deemed a failure after processors wouldn’t take part.
Vardy was also a member of Premier Andrew Furey’s 2021 economic recovery team whose report highlighted the “rejection” of the electronic auction system.
“Premier Furey might even consider hiring David Vardy again to put together the electronic auction pilot project considering he’s been over the same ground before,” Cleary said.
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SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
-30-
FFAW-Unifor election ‘democratic farce’: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, Aug. 19th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) calls the election process followed by the FFAW-Unifor to select a new secretary-treasurer a democratic farce, with thousands of members blocked from taking part in the vote.
“The FFAW election is an attack on democracy in terms of a free, open, and transparent election given the absolute corruption of what should be the union’s prized democratic process,” says Merv Wiseman, a member of SEA-NL’s executive board with extensive experience in organizational governance.
“The broader public should be concerned anytime we see democratic rights and freedoms usurped,” he added. “The FFAW’s voting practice is a decline in democracy, and should be condemned by all those who value the democratic process.”
The FFAW called an election for a new secretary-treasurer, the union’s second-in-command, following the unexpected July 29th resignation of Robert Keenan, who had been in the position since 2020.
However, the roughly 2,400 FFAW members who signed membership cards in 2019 in support of FISH-NL, a rival union at the time, are deemed ineligible by the union to nominate candidates or to run for secretary-treasurer.
Nominations close Aug. 26th, and to date the only candidates to step forward are two FFAW paid employees.
The actual election will be held Aug. 31st, and only members of the union’s executive board, and inshore and industrial-retail-offshore councils are eligible to vote.
“SEA-NL has a vested interest in the FFAW election because the union also represents our enterprise-owner members on fundamental issues like non-core groundfish licenses, and the right of fishermen to sell them or pass them on,” Wiseman said. “It’s in the best interests of SEA-NL members that enterprise owners are well represented."
Formed in 2016, FISH-NL was a recognized union until its disbandment in December 2019. SEA-NL was formed in the spring of 2021 as a professional association to serve as the distinct voice of the province’s 3,200 licensed inshore enterprise owners in all fleets.
-30-
FFAW’s new sec-treasurer key figure in court case union lost to members; SEA-NL questions accountability
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, Aug. 31st, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) questions FFAW-Unifor accountability in light of the union executive’s election earlier today of long-time west coast staff-rep Jason Spingle to the position of secretary-treasurer.
“Where is the accountability when the FFAW executive elects a new secretary-treasurer who was a key figure in an unprecedented court case in which the union was shown to have deceived its members?” questions Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
The FFAW executive — including executive board, and inshore and industrial-retail councils — met this morning in St. John’s, and elected Jason Spingle, a 24-year union staff-rep for the province’s west coast, as the new secretary-treasurer.
Spingle replaces Robert Keenan, who unexpectedly resigned in July.
In 2016, the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador ruled in favour of 71 scallop fishermen who took their union, the FFAW-Unifor, to court over a $2.6-million compensation fund for lost fishing grounds. The decision was later upheld on appeal.
Nalcor set up the fund to compensate fishermen for an under-sea cable laid across the Strait of Bell Isle to bring Muskrat Falls hydroelectricity to the island.
The fishermen argued the money should be shared through lump sum payments among everyone who held a scallop licence. The union said the money should be paid out over 30 years to active fishers who could demonstrate annual losses.
During the trial Spingle admitted the union was a year into negotiations with Nalcor before it asked fishermen to sign consent forms.
“Jason Spingle’s election does little to instil confidence in such an important position,” says Merv Wiseman, a member of SEA-NL’s executive board with extensive knowledge in organizational governance.
Wiseman has described the FFAW election as a “democratic farce.”
The roughly 2,400 FFAW members who signed membership cards in 2019 in support of FISH-NL, a rival union at the time, were deemed ineligible by the union to nominate candidates or to run for secretary-treasurer.
As well, only members of the union’s executive board, and inshore and industrial-retail-offshore councils, actually voted for the new secretary-treasurer.
SEA-NL also had a a vested interest in the FFAW election because the union represents enterprise-owner members on fundamental issues like non-core groundfish licenses, and the right of fishermen to sell them or pass them on.
-30-
SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
-30-
FFAW-Unifor election ‘democratic farce’: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, Aug. 19th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) calls the election process followed by the FFAW-Unifor to select a new secretary-treasurer a democratic farce, with thousands of members blocked from taking part in the vote.
“The FFAW election is an attack on democracy in terms of a free, open, and transparent election given the absolute corruption of what should be the union’s prized democratic process,” says Merv Wiseman, a member of SEA-NL’s executive board with extensive experience in organizational governance.
“The broader public should be concerned anytime we see democratic rights and freedoms usurped,” he added. “The FFAW’s voting practice is a decline in democracy, and should be condemned by all those who value the democratic process.”
The FFAW called an election for a new secretary-treasurer, the union’s second-in-command, following the unexpected July 29th resignation of Robert Keenan, who had been in the position since 2020.
However, the roughly 2,400 FFAW members who signed membership cards in 2019 in support of FISH-NL, a rival union at the time, are deemed ineligible by the union to nominate candidates or to run for secretary-treasurer.
Nominations close Aug. 26th, and to date the only candidates to step forward are two FFAW paid employees.
The actual election will be held Aug. 31st, and only members of the union’s executive board, and inshore and industrial-retail-offshore councils are eligible to vote.
“SEA-NL has a vested interest in the FFAW election because the union also represents our enterprise-owner members on fundamental issues like non-core groundfish licenses, and the right of fishermen to sell them or pass them on,” Wiseman said. “It’s in the best interests of SEA-NL members that enterprise owners are well represented."
Formed in 2016, FISH-NL was a recognized union until its disbandment in December 2019. SEA-NL was formed in the spring of 2021 as a professional association to serve as the distinct voice of the province’s 3,200 licensed inshore enterprise owners in all fleets.
-30-
Search and rescue services must top Ottawa’s Labrador agenda: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Aug. 26th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) joins Indigenous leaders in expressing disappointment that search and rescue (SAR) services for Labrador are not Ottawa’s highest priority.
“For as long as the entire Labrador coastline is void of a dedicated Canadian Coast Guard ship, and a dedicated Cormorant helicopter to carry out primary SAR missions, the issue must top all agendas,” says Merv Wiseman, a member of SEA-NL’s executive, and outspoken advocate for stronger SAR services.
Defence Minister Anita Anand visited Canadian Forces base 5 Wing Goose Bay Wednesday to reiterate Ottawa’s $38.6-million funding commitment over 20 years to improve the country’s military bases.
Infrastructure at 5 Wing Goose will reportedly be upgraded, including new surveillance and air weapons systems.
Indigenous leaders representing the NunatuKavut community council, and the Nunatsiavut government expressed disappointment following the minister’s visit at the lack of federal commitment to improved SAR services for Labrador.
SEA-NL passed at resolution at its founding convention earlier this year that Fisheries and Oceans Canada dedicate a primary Canadian Coast Guard vessel to Labrador; and that National Defence assign a dedicated Cormorant helicopter to 5 Wing Goose Bay.
“SEA-NL will be calling on the Defence Minister to seize the opportunity that still exists to establish 5 Wing Goose as a legitimate search and rescue base for Labrador,” Wiseman said.
Labrador represents one of the largest geographical areas in Canada without a dedicated SAR air or maritime resource stationed in its region.
-30-
SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
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Foreign longliner accused six times within year of illegal fishing proves NAFO useless: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Aug. 12, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) says the fact a Faroese longliner was allowed to return fishing after being accused on six separate occasions within the past year of serious violations proves, yet again, the enforcement regime outside Canadian waters is a horrible joke.
“That joke is on Newfoundland and Labrador when our fishing industry pays the biggest price for Ottawa’s failure to address decades of foreign overfishing,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director. “It is idiotic to conserve and protect commercial stocks in our own waters when fish have tails, and once they swim outside 200 miles they’re done for.”
The captain of the Faroe Islands longliner Bordoyarnes was issued six “notices of infringement” between September, 2021 and July of this year for violations while fishing halibut on the tail of the Grand Banks just outside Canadian waters.
Find the breakdown of the notices on this DFO webpage: https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/international/mcs-citations-eng.htm
The term “notices of infringement” is used because under rules of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), which oversees fishing on the high seas outside 200 miles, it is up to the home country of an accused vessel to follow through with an investigation, and possible penalties.
All six notices were categorized as serious as they relate to the misreporting of catches, and were issued by DFO Fishery Officers during separate inspections — once at sea, and the remainder when the ship unloaded halibut in Bay Roberts.
Unlike most countries, the continental shelf off eastern Canada extends beyond 200 miles, leaving migratory stocks vulnerable once they cross over to international or NAFO waters. NAFO as toothless, unable to enforce the quotes it sets.
Christian Mathisen, captain of the Bordoyarnes, contacted SEA-NL last September after a post was published about the initial two notices of infraction against him.
He described those notices as the result of a misunderstanding, and accused “pirate” offshore factory-freezer trawlers of destroying the Grand Banks by directing for moratorium species such as cod and other illegal fishing activities.
Mathisen said Canadian enforcement officers were aware of what was happening, but told him their hands are tied during the pandemic because Covid-19 protocols prevent at-sea boardings and inspections.
This summer a source aboard a Canadian Coast Guard patrol ship confirmed foreign draggers were denying boarding requests by declaring there was Covid aboard ship. The source said the patrol ship went weeks without a single boarding.
SEA-NL filed a formal request under the federal Access to Information Act for the number of successful/unsuccessful boardings/inspections of foreign trawlers outside the 200-mile limit between March 2020, when the pandemic began, and this past April.
DFO denied the request under sections of the Act that state information may be withheld if its release may be “injurious” to international relations. or contains information confidentially supplied by a third party.
“Newfoundland and Labrador obviously play second fiddle to Ottawa's relations with other countries,” Cleary said. “Our fishery must become priority 1.”
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Contact: Ryan Cleary 682 4862
SEA-NL calls for elimination of province’s farcical system of fish pricing before fisheries lost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Friday, July 15, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for the elimination of the provincial government's final-offer system of fish pricing in favour of direct negotiations between the union and processors until contracts are hammered out that both sides respect.
“There is no point in government being involved in negotiating the price of fish when its appointed panel does not have the power to enforce one price or the other, and its decisions do not result in commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“The existing system has collapsed with processors refusing to buy for the prices that are set, and inshore fleets remaining tied to the wharf,” he added. “Both sides must stick it out at the negotiating table until a contract is hammered out like with any other collective agreement.”
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing, a provincial government-appointed panel steps in when the FFAW-Unifor, and Association of Seafood Producers can’t reach a deal on the price of a particular species.
The panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, most prices set by the panel to date this year have not resulted in fisheries, as is the case with northern shrimp, sea cucumber, east coast capelin, and likely squid.
In the case of snow crab, processors have attempted to pay far less than the panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like transportation that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
Speculation is processors haven't made a killing at snow crab this year like they did in 2021, and are squeezing every last cent from every other price.
“Government must move immediately or a number of fisheries may not happen this year, which will be devastating to the inshore fleet and our rural communities,” Cleary said. “In the longer term government must be open to outside buyers.”
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SEA-NL welcomes review of government-controlled fish pricing system
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, July 21st, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) welcomes a review of the province’s collective bargaining model for fish pricing in light of the chaos in this year’s industry with prices that have failed to kick-start commercial fisheries.
“It's welcome news the fish-pricing model will be reviewed and overhauled to ensure consistent, fair-market return to the inshore fleet,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director. “Just as important is that the wild commercial fisheries have finally caught the attention of the Premier Andrew Furey administration.”
The news of a review of the collective bargaining model for fish pricing in this province comes days after SEA-NL called for the elimination of the “farcical system” before entire fisheries are lost.
Under the final-offer selection system of fish pricing — which is unique to this province — a government-appointed panel steps in when the union and processors/buyers fail to reach a deal on the price to be paid to the inshore fleet for a particular species.
Legislation dictates the panel must choose one price or the other, with its final decision “binding” on both sides. However, some prices set by the panel this year have resulted in delayed fisheries (sea cucumber), while others (northern shrimp, east coast capelin) have yet to start.
In the case of northern shrimp, processors wouldn’t buy for the panel’s spring price of $1.42/lb, and then the inshore fleet wouldn’t fish for the panel’s summer price of 90¢/lb.
Government has reportedly appointed a mediator to meet today with the union and processors over the shrimp price. Meanwhile, the shrimp fleet is expected to head to sea today after Ocean Choice International agreed to an interim price of $1.20/lb.
In the case of snow crab, in recent weeks at least one processor has attempted to pay less than the latest “binding” panel price of $6.15/lb by charging owner-operators for services like trucking that in precious years were covered by the negotiated price.
David Conway, chair of the province’s Labour Relations Board, will carry out the review of the collective bargaining model, which was introduced in 2006. Under the model, strikes or lockouts are prohibited, and panel decisions on prices are binding, meaning prices are not voted on by the fleets.
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Panel-system of fish pricing has collapsed: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, July 4th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) says the panel system of fish pricing in this province has collapsed, with the panel either setting prices that will not result in a fishery, or processors ignoring prices and unilaterally setting their own.
SEA-NL is calling on the provincial government to immediately step in and restore confidence in fish pricing.
“The panel system has become a joke not only here in Newfoundland and Labrador, but with fishermen right around Eastern Canada laughing at us,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s executive director.
In mid-May the provincial government-appointed price-setting panel set the latest price for snow crab paid to the inshore fleet at $6.15/lb.
Processors refused to buy crab for that price, but then last week Green’s Seafood Ltd. — a buyer whose crab is processed at Quinlan’s Bay de Verde operation — began charging inshore boats for services such as ice, offloading, discharging, freight and logistics that were always included in the price paid to fishermen for their catch.
Owner-operators figure the new charges would drive down the snow crab price to $3.70/lb from $6.15/lb.
Green’s has told owner-operators they must sign a paper agreeing to the news costs or the company will not buy from them.
The information has been forwarded to provincial Fisheries Minister Derek Bragg.
“That's a bold-faced violation of the collective agreement between the FFAW and Association of Seafood Producers, and a clear sign that the province's panel system of fish pricing has collapsed,” Cleary said.
“The panel is now officially useless. Paying one cent less than $6.15/lb for crab is a breach of the binding price or collective agreement that the panel imposed on May 16th.”
In its written decision last week that set the summer shrimp price at 90¢/lb, the panel said the final price may not result in a fishery — and it hasn’t.
“The panel members should have resigned when they wrote that given the impossibility of the challenge they faced,” Cleary added. “The panel system of fish pricing in this province is unravelling on the watch of Fisheries Minister Derek Bragg, and so far he and his government aren’t doing a tap about it.”
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Make-or-break moment for province’s Liberal MPs; seal vote goes before Parliament on Wednesday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, June 13th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling on the province’s six Liberal Members of Parliament to vote for a bill before Parliament Wednesday (July 15th) that would force Fisheries and Oceans to implement seal management plans.
“This is one of those make-or-break moments for our Members of Parliament when they must decide whether they represent Newfoundland and Labrador in Ottawa or the other way around,” says Ryan Cleary, Executive Director of SEA-NL, and a former NDP MP. “Seals eat fish just as surely as MPs need votes.”
Bill C-251 calls on the federal minister of Fisheries and Oceans to develop management plans for pinnipeds — including seals, sea lions, and walruses on the East and West coasts and Northern Canada.
The province’s lone Opposition MP, Conservative Clifford Small (Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame), is behind the private members’ bill — support for which from the province’s six Liberal MPs (including cabinet ministers Seamus O’Regan, and Gudie Hutchings) is reportedly “questionable.”
That’s despite the fact Small has said publicly he’s open to amendments to the legislation, which also includes yearly pinniped censuses, addressing trade barriers to the sale of seal products, and the use of anti-predator mechanisms around fishing grounds.
In May, the report of a federal seal science task force recommended that fish stock rebuilding plans in Atlantic Canada include the impact of seals, a recommendation first made 32 years ago by the Leslie Harris report on the state of the northern cod stock.
In response to the task team report, federal Fisheries and Oceans Minster Joyce Murray acknowledged that “seals eat fish,” with DFO planning a seal summit in St. John’s for this coming fall.
The harp seal population alone off Eastern Canada increased to an estimated 7.6 million in 2019 — the largest North Atlantic harp seal population in recorded history — from about two million animals in the 1970s.
SEA-NL is a non-profit organization that represents the province’s licensed, independent, inshore owner-operator fish harvesters.
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SEA-NL demands province allow inshore fleet to truck snow crab out of province
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Saturday, June 11, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) demands the provincial government allow owner-operators to truck snow crab out of province given some local processors have stopped buying.
“If processors will not buy crab then fishermen who can find mainland buyers must be able to truck out their crab or the entire industry will shut down,” says Jason Sullivan, President of SEA-NL and a Bay Bulls fisherman. “There are no jobs left to protect.”
At least two processing companies, Notre Dame Seafoods and Quinlan’s, reportedly stopped buying crab on Friday (June 10th).
The news follows a May 30th press release in which the Association of Seafood Producers, which represents most of the province’s fish processors/buyers, said plants would be limiting or stopping snow crab production because the market is “not operating as usual.”
According to DFO’s most recent statistics, 27% or almost 14,000 tonnes of the province’s 50,000-tonne 2022 snow crab quota remains in the water.
Snow crab is the province’s most lucrative fishery, with a 2021 landed value of $623 million that was projected to grow to more than $800 million this year given the price, and 32% quota increase.
The price per pound paid to the inshore fleet began the 2022 season at $7.60, the same as last year, but dropped to $6.15 in mid May.
Processors have also refused to pay the currency provision that takes into account the US-Canada exchange rate, which should have increased the price of crab to the inshore fleet to $6.22/lb for three weeks in May.
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Fisherman who vowed to dump shrimp if no buyer found suffers vessel breakdown; threat stands
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, June 8th, 2022
The La Scie fisherman who vowed to dump his first load of northern shrimp for the season if no buyer steps forward returned to port today without any catch after his fishing boat suffered mechanical problems at sea.
But Terry Ryan says he expects the Atlantic Bluefin Too will be repaired as early as Friday, and he plans to follow through with his pledge.
“Full-steam ahead,” says Ryan, who operates the enterprise with his son, Josh, the skipper and licence-holder.
Terry Ryan threatened to dump the shrimp at an estimated loss of $100,000 if there’s no buyer as a protest over the province’s panel system of fish pricing.
Under the panel system, when the FFAW and processors can’t reach agreement on the price of a particular species to be paid to the inshore fleet, the decision goes to a provincial government-appointed, three-person panel.
Both sides put forward a price, and by law the panel must choose one or the other — nowhere in between.
In the case of shrimp, on April 24th the panel choose the $1.42/lb offered by the FFAW over the 90¢/lb put forward by the Association of Seafood Producers.
Only processors have been refusing to buy for that amount (even though the best fishing is in the spring), and boats in the Gulf and off the northeast coast and southern Labrador remain tied up despite the fishery opening on May 29th.
A market report prepared for the panel on this year’s northern shrimp fishery predicted “good demand, low inventories, and higher prices.”
The Ryan’s estimated $100,000 loss is based on a shrimp catch of 50,000 pounds, plus wages for the crew, supplies, and the cost of fuel.
While prices for species such as cod, northern shrimp, and snow crab are decided by the price-setting panel if the union and processors fail to agree, other species such as halibut have their own pricing system based on actual market returns.
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Shrimp fisherman vows to dump catch if buyer doesn’t step forward; price-setting panel not working: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, May 24th, 2022
La Scie fisherman Terry Ryan threatens to dump his first load of northern shrimp for the season at an estimated loss of $100,000 if there’s no buyer when the catch lands at the wharf early next week.
“The panel system of fish pricing in this province is not working, and that point must be hammered home,” says Ryan, who together with son Josh operate the Atlantic Bluefin Too. “The fishery needs a good shake, and that’s what we plan to give it.”
While the minimum price paid to the inshore fleet for northern shrimp was set on April 24th — and the inshore fishery off southern Labrador and northeaster Newfoundland (shrimp fishing area 6) opened on May 29th — owner-operators have yet to leave the wharf.
Processors reportedly aren’t prepared to pay the minimum price of $1.42/lb as set by the province’s fish price-setting panel, despite the fact a market report prepared for the panel on this year’s shrimp fishery predicts “good demand, low inventories, and higher prices.”
The panel also recommended the inshore fleet catch more shrimp in spring when yields are at their best, which hasn’t happened in recent years.
“The price-setting panel clearly isn’t working when its prices and recommendations are not respected, and fleet remain tied up at the wharf,” says Ryan Cleary, Executive Director of SEA-NL. “
Terry Ryan said his son hopes to start fishing shrimp on Sunday, and if there's no buyer for the 50,000/lbs they expect to have aboard by late Monday/early Tuesday when the vessel lands, the catch will be dumped. The estimated $100,000 loss includes the value of the catch, wages for the crew, supplies, and the cost of fuel.
“The initial reason for establishing the panel was a good one — to avoid buyers not buying, and fishermen not fishing,” said Ryan. “but that’s exactly where we find ourselves again today.”
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SEA-NL supports province's move to increase snow crab processing capacity
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, May 24th, 2022
A week after Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL)
recommended an increase in snow crab processing capacity as a means to reduce pressure on the inshore fleet to fish in potentially unsafe conditions, and the provincial government has done just that.
“More competition in the processing sector should mean more opportunity for inshore boats to land crab quotas faster, with less expense, and safer for all hands,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
The province’s Fish Processing Licensing Board today approved two of four applications for fish processing licenses — including a new primary processing license for groundfish, whelk, and snow crab (2.5 million/lbs) for St. Mary’s Bay Fisheries Ltd., and doubling the amount of crab Dandy Dan’s Fish Market of Argentia can purchase to two million pounds per year.
Workers at some crab processing operations around the province including St. Lawrence, Bonavista, and Brigus protested against the issuance of more licenses, arguing the move will mean less work at existing plants.
However, the limited amount of processing capacity in the province resulted in processors imposing trip limits and fishing schedules on the inshore fleet — pressuring enterprise owners to fish in questionable weather or to catch their quotas before soft shell or moulting crab shuts down a fishery and the quotas are lost.
“More crab processing capacity will take pressure off the inshore fleet, and that’s what SEA-NL was after,” said Cleary.
The snow crab quota has been on the rise in waters around the province for several years. The 2022 total allowable catch for snow crab is just over 50,000 tonnes, only 6,000 tonnes less than 2010. However, 11 years ago there were 36 snow crab processing licenses in the province, compared to 25 today.
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SEA-NL calls for public inquiry into fishing vessel safety, search and rescue
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, May 20th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is calling for a joint, federal/provincial commission of inquiry into fishing vessel safety, and search and rescue response in this province to investigate why incidents and deaths at sea are on the rise.
“There is no greater indictment of serious, systemic problems with fishing vessel safety and search and rescue than the rise in mariner deaths,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director.
“Fishing is already one of the most dangerous occupations in the world without lax government oversight increasing those risks.”
SEA-NL recommends that an inquiry into fishing vessel safety and search and rescue in the province investigate from four fronts — fisheries management, Transport Canada regulations, safety at sea, and search and rescue.
“The Transportation Safety board has been reporting on commercial fishing deficiencies for the last three decades and it’s been on their watchlist for 12 years, and every year the same safety deficiencies aboard fishing vessels continue to put the lives of thousands of harvesters at risk,” says Merv Wiseman, a member of SEA-NL’s executive board, and advocate for vessel safety and search and rescue.
The Transportation Safety Board released an investigative report this week into the 2020 sinking of the fishing vessel Sarah Anne in Placentia Bay, which claimed the lives of four south coast fishermen.
The report found that the vessel hadn’t been inspected since its construction in 1980, 40 years before. The investigation also found that the boat had been operating outside its safe operating limits, which the skipper and crew had no way of knowing.
“The fact that more than 4,000 small boats from the under 35’ fleet are registered with Fisheries and Oceans than with Transport Canada screams that fishery management regulations have taken precedence over fishing safety,” said Wiseman. “The Government of Canada has lost its way in that regard.”
SEA-NL has warned that trip limits and fishing schedules in the ongoing snow crab fishery can pressure owner-operators to fish in dangerous conditions, and are an accident waiting to happen.
“Owner-operators often find themselves fishing in dangerous conditions,” said Wiseman. “They should never be pressured into those dangerous conditions.”
SEA-NL will make a formal written request to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Andrew Furey for a commission of inquiry with the power to subpoena witnesses, take evidence under oath, and request documents.
Between 2018 and 2020 there were 45 harvester fatalities on fishing vessels of all sizes and all types of occurrences — the highest fatality count in a three-year period in more than 20 years.
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SEA-NL supports province issuing new snow crab processing licenses
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, May 17th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) supports the issuance of new snow crab processing licenses as the quickest way to increase industry capacity, and reduce pressure on the inshore fleet to fish in potentially unsafe conditions.
“We see more processing licenses as the quickest way to take pressure off the inshore fleet,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s executive director. “More competition in the processing sector should mean more opportunity for inshore boats to land crab quotas faster, with less expense, and safer for all hands.”
The province’s Fish Processing Licensing Board is reportedly considering four applications for snow crab processing licenses around the province, including one for St. Mary’s.
The licensing board has made a recommendation regarding the St. Mary’s application, but provincial Fisheries Minister Derek Bragg is said to be meeting with the board today before making a final decision.
Workers at some crab processing operations around the province including St. Lawrence, Bonavista, and Brigus have protested against the issuance of more licenses, arguing the move will mean less work at existing plants.
At the same time, the limited amount of processing capacity in the province has resulted in processors imposing trip limits and fishing schedules on the inshore fleet, which lost millions of dollars when they weren’t able to catch their quotas before Monday when the price dropped to $6.15/lb from $7.60/lb.
But the even bigger concern is the pressure that trip limits and fishing schedules put on enterprise owners to fish in questionable weather or to catch their quotas before soft shell or moulting crab shut down a fishery and the quotas are lost.
“More crab processing capacity will take pressure off the inshore fleet, and that’s the bottom line for SEA-NL,” said Cleary.
He added that over the longer term the province must correct the incredible power imbalance between owner-operators and processors by allowing in outside buyers, considering an auction system for fish pricing, and lobbying Ottawa to include fish pricing with amendments to the federal Competition Act.
“It’s critical the power imbalance be corrected so the inshore fleet is on the same footing as the processing sector,” Cleary said. “Anything less is unacceptable.”
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Impact of foreign overfishing as bad as seals; must also be addressed: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, May 13th, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) congratulates the Government of Canada for finally recognizing that seals eat fish, but reminds Ottawa that foreign overfishing on/off the Grand Banks is as destructive as ever to commercial stocks.
“Seals aren’t the only killer of fish stocks,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director. “It’s still the wild west outside the 200-mile limit in terms of overfishing by foreign factory-freezer draggers.”
Federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Joyce Murray said Thursday more research is needed on the impact of seals on dwindling East Coast fish stocks in response to a report that said DFO’s science doesn't go far enough.
DFO, however, must consider all factors — including foreign overfishing — on the health of battered East Coast fish stocks.
Unlike most countries, Canada’s continental shelf off eastern Newfoundland and Labrador extends beyond 200 miles, leaving migratory stocks such as northern cod exposed to foreign overfishing once they swim to the high seas.
High seas fishing on the nose and tail of the Grand Banks, and rich nearby fishing grounds like the Flemish Cap, are regulated by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), which is seen as toothless, unable to enforce the quotas it sets.
Under NAFO rules, Canada cannot charge a foreign dragger with illegal fishing. Rather, it is left to the vessel’s home country to investigate a complaint or “notice of infringement” issued by Canadian enforcement officers, and follow up with possible penalties/court action, which amount to a slap on the wrist.
This past March, the Portuguese offshore factory-freezer trawler Nova Virgem Da Barca was issued the fifth “notice of infringement” in six years for fishing violations that include misreporting catches, use of undersized mesh, and observer intimidation.
“It’s obvious that Canadian enforcement actions are not cutting it as a deterrent to foreign overfishing,” Cleary said.
Last October the captain of a Faroe Islands longliner accused "pirate trawlers" of destroying the Grand Banks under the nose of Fisheries and Oceans by directing for moratorium species such as cod and other illegal fishing activities.
“The impact of foreign overfishing on our domestic fisheries may be as big or bigger than that of seals, and Ottawa must act on both fronts,” said Cleary.
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Trip limits must be addressed in crab fishery or Furey government may have blood on its hands: SEA-NL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) is demanding Premier Andrew Furey address trip limits in the snow crab fishery or his government may have blood on its hands before the end of the fishing season.
“The inshore fleet has one of the most dangerous jobs without trip limits adding to the risk, and then owner-operators being told when to fish, and when not to fish,” says Ryan Cleary, Executive Director of SEA-NL.
“Trip limits put pressure on enterprise owners — who are also dealing with the threat of a price drop, and fishery closures in the case of molting or soft-shell crab — to fish in weather they would not ordinarily fish in,” he said. “If government stands idly by and lives are lost this crab fishing season the province will have to answer for them directly.”
Snow crab buyers brought in trip limits last week on the inshore fleet to slow down the amount landed. Many boats were tied to the wharf this past weekend when the weather was good, only to be told today they can head to sea on Wednesday.
Larger inshore boats have weekly trip limits of 20,000/lbs and up, while some smaller boats in the fleet are capped at 3,000/lb. With trip limits, a crab quota that could be landed in a week could take a month or longer to bring in.
Enterprise owners are forced to make more trips to sea in weather that’s worsening with climate change, and driving up fishing costs by thousands of dollars for fuel alone.
“Trip limits and being told when to fish are an accident waiting to happen,” says Merv Wiseman, an outspoken advocate for fishing vessel safety who also sits on SEA-NL’s executive board. “The economic pressure on fish harvesters to meet trip limits imposed by processors means they will go to sea in unsafe conditions.”
While trip limits are forced on the inshore fleet, snow crab is reportedly being trucked into the province for processin