Members of the FFAW (Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union) and their supporters rally at the Confederation Building in St. John's, Monday, April 17, 2023. As a standoff in Newfoundland and Labrador's crab fishery enters its third week, the union representing inshore fishers says it's keeping an eye on the Maritimes, where harvesters have started to fish. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Daly
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – As inshore crab fishers in Newfoundland and Labrador protest low prices, their union is keeping an eye on Maritime fishers who have started to harvest.
The Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union says it is waiting to see if fresh product from the Maritimes will drive prices in the crab market back up.
Newfoundland fishers are refusing to harvest snow crab, saying they can’t make a living off this year’s price of $2.20 per pound – a precipitous drop from last year’s opening price of $7.60 per pound.
But the crab season opened April 11 in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, and a union representative in Nova Scotia says harvesters aren’t making much money with prices set at $2.25 a pound.
Gordon Beaton, vice-president of the Nova Scotia wing of the Maritime Fishermen’s Union, says it’s up to each fisher to decide if it’s worth it to fish.
Seafood industry consultant Les Hodges says the crab market has plummeted after several years of record-high prices.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2023.
