It will come as no surprise to Maine lobstermen to learn that falling prices have created a crisis for Atlantic Canada fishermen, from Quebec to New Brunswick.
The situation was summed up by Earle McCurdy, President of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) in Newfoundland and Labrador, “We’re facing a total disaster.”
Ed Frenette, Executive Director of the PEI Fishermen’s Association (PEIFA), added, “This is the most serious situation we’ve seen in 40 years. On the north shore we’ve got lobsters coming out of our ears. On the south shore it’s a double whammy, low prices and very low landings.”
On May 19 Frenette said that the price for small canners ranged from $2.75 a pound to $3. Market lobsters were getting $3.50. “There are rumors the price could drop for canners, although the market price could stay.” All prices are in Canadian dollars.
On April 1, Prince Edward Island lobster fishermen called on Ottawa to provide them with a “Wall Street” type of bail-out to counteract what they called a “crash” in lobster prices.
Frenette noted, “What most people don’t realize is that, in relative terms, the lobster industry is worth more to Prince Edward Island than the auto industry is to Ontario.”
By early May the call for federal help had spread all across Atlantic Canada-from Quebec to New Brunswick.
On May 8, the FFAW in Newfoundland and Labrador issued a statement that read in part: “Fisheries organizations throughout Atlantic Canada have issued a joint call for provincial and federal fisheries ministers to convene an emergency meeting to deal with the devastating lobster market collapse, which is threatening the survival of thousands of small fishing enterprises throughout the region.”
The FFAW was joined by the Maritime Fishermen’s Union in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, the PEI Fishermen’s Association, the Regroupement des Pecheurs Professionnel du Sud de la Gaspesie in Quebec, the Gulf Nova Scotia Bonafide Fishermen’s Association and the Northumberland Fishermen’s Coalition.
“We are looking at prices that we haven’t seen in 20 to 30 years-this has the potential to destroy the Atlantic lobster fishery, along with the harvesters and communities that depend on it to survive,” said FFAW Secretary-Treasurer David Decker. “People don’t seem to realize that lobster is the most important fishery for small enterprises in the less-than-45-foot fleet in rural communities throughout Atlantic Canada. We need to have our governments step in and take immediate steps to help address problems both for now and in the future.”
In total, approximately 10,000 fishermen are directly affected by the market collapse, including 3,000 in Nova Scotia, 2,500 in Newfoundland and Labrador, 1,800 in New Brunswick, 1,000 in Quebec, and 1,500 in PEI.
Kay Wallace, representing the Gulf Nova Scotia Bonafide Fishermen’s Association, says: “The fishing industry in Atlantic Canada is facing an immediate crisis with this season’s severe drop in prices. Lobster fishers spend any profits made in their local communities. With prices so low, they will have no profits, only losses. This will have a direct effect on the economies of local communities. This will also likely also see recent new entrants forced out of the fishery.”
On May 15, federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Gail Shea, who also represents PEI in the Cabinet, met with representatives of the coalition in Moncton, New Brunswick.
She told them that providing lobster fishermen with subsidies in this time of low prices would violate Canada’s trade agreement with the United States. She added that the industry needs to be revamped to include more efforts in publicity and marketing of Atlantic lobster.
Responding to Shea’s statement, Maritime Fishermen’s Union (MFU) Executive Secretary said, “We were extremely disappointed by the reaction of our government. We’re disappointed by both the federal and provincial government’s response.”
FFAW President Earle McCurdy was harsher saying: “This was a useless meeting. We’re facing a total disaster. Governments all over the world are responding to this economic crisis. Well, fishermen here are being buffeted by the same huge problems, sluggish markets and tighter access to credit.”
McCurdy noted on May 19 that the price for market lobsters was $3.25. He added that the price had been $3, but that a four-day boat tie-up had added the 25 cents. Earlier when announcing the start of the tie-up he noted that the break-even point is generally regarded to be about $5 a pound.
Meanwhile, on Prince Edward Island the provincial government has offered a five-point program that includes buying surplus lobster under one pound and making them available for later sale, extending its low-interest loan plan, establishing a joint federal-provincial marketing promotion plan worth $4 million, making employment insurance more flexible and reducing the number of lobster licenses.
One problem with the plan, says Frenette, is that parts of it depend on federal participation. “The devil, however, is in the details. We have no details at this point. We’ll see.”
McCurdy said that the organizations are calling for a meeting with Shea, who is National Defense Minister and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway, and also represents Nova Scotia in the Cabinet, and with Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, who oversees the employment insurance program.
“We’re looking at every possible means to keep the pressure on,” McCurdy added.
Brun, whose MFU represents 1,500 fishermen in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick said on May 19, “This is a desperate time for us here,” but added that MFU fishermen had no plans to tie up. “However, we’re not ruling it out for down the road.”
Brun also said, “There have been discussions about what kind of action to take. Today [May 19] a group of 140 fishermen are gathering at the offices of their M.P.s [Members of Parliament] and their M.L.A.s [Members of the Legislative Assembly]. As for further action, we’re evaluating every day. Whatever action we take we want it to be effective, and we want to show solidarity throughout Atlantic Canada.
“We talk to our members every day, and we talk to our allies every day,” Brun said. “We’re going to keep our message active to the decision-makers.”