ST. JOHN'S, N.L.
The fishing industry is worth over $1 billion annually to the Newfoundland and Labrador economy, according to the provinces 2019 Seafood Industry Year in Review report.
Yet until last Friday, Jan. 29, none of the parties seeking election on Feb. 13 had offered any details on their ideas on the fishing industry.
The Progressive Conservative Party was the first to unveil their platform.
In a press release on Jan. 29, PC leader Ches Crosbie said, We will help fish harvesters and coastal communities rejuvenate their economies by working directly with those in the industrynot government bureaucratsto develop policies that work for them."
Yet some of the ideas put forward by the PC party would depend on agreement by Ottawa to change federal regulations.
The Conservatives have been pushing joint management. Its an idea thats been floated for decades by premiers and governments of the past, both Liberal and Conservative, and it always failed to get traction.
That doesnt stop the Tories from hoping.
Crosbie says a PC government would work to convince Ottawa to agree to a joint management regime for the fishery, similar to the Atlantic Accord that governs the oil and gas industry.
The party also said it would seek options to curtail the waste of unintended by-catch, fish that are accidentally caught in pursuit of other species. Federal regulations under the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) require those by-catches to be dumped.
The Conservatives also say they favour fish over seals, If a cull is required to reduce predation to save fish stocks, we will find a way to make that happen.
Again, the management of seals, including decisions on seal hunting quotas, is decided by the DFO.
Once seals are harvested, however, the provinces processing and business regulations come into play.
Crosbie said the PCs would work to ensure full use of the seal and to help in the development of markets, from oil to leather to protein.
Within provincial legislation, the party says it will empower the Fish Processing Licencing Board to review foreign ownership and influence in processing operations and make recommendations.
(January 29, 2021) PC Leader Ches Crosbie says joint management of fisheries in Newfoundland and Labrador is essential...
The party also said there is potential for an expanded aquaculture industry to boost the rural Newfoundland and Labrador economy.
According to the 2019 Seafood Industry Review, aquaculture represented 12 percent of the $1.9 billion value of the fishery that year.
The PC party says it will champion an environmentally-sustainable industry that is not working to the detriment of our existing wild stocks, and one that leverages science and innovation to provide long-term opportunities.
The party also said it will work to streamline the existing regulatory framework while increasing transparency in reporting and monitoring of our aquaculture industry.
Aquaculture also involves Ottawa and the DFO is in the midst of a public consultation process to develop Canadas first-ever Aquaculture Act.
That consultation process concludes Feb. 12.
The Liberal party, meanwhile, focuses solely on aquaculture in its fishery platform, unveiled Feb. 2.
Our government will strategically invest in the provinces aquaculture industry so that it will have the competitive advantages it needs to succeed internationally, said Premier Andrew Furey in a press release, noting there is growing global demand for farmed fish and this province is well positioned to capitalize on that market.
Like the PCs, the Liberals offer no details or costing, just general statements on their vision for aquaculture.
They say a Furey government will:
(We) will work with industry to identify opportunities for secondary or further processing of our existing exports, as well as supporting the research and development of new processing activity for materials we currently consider to be waste or low-value by-products, the Liberals said in their platform release.
The New Democratic Party revealed their ideas for the fishery in its election platform released Wednesday, Feb. 3.
The party says it will bring fisheries into the 21st century."
One of their promises is to enact laws to prohibit processing companies from having controlling agreements in the inshore fishery, with strict penalties and fines for companies violating those rules. However, the issue of controlling agreements is already covered under federal law, through the amended Fisheries Act which becomes law on April 1.
The party also says it will ensure fairer fish price negotiations for harvesters. Fish pricing is regulated by the province through the Fish Price Setting Panel.
According to the NDP, when fish harvesters are negotiating prices for their catches, only one side the processors have all the information available.
The NL NDP believes transparency in fish price negotiations is essential for fair labour relations. The right thing to do is commit to collecting production information and pricing from processors on all products processed in Newfoundland and Labrador and make this information available to all parties in collective bargaining.
The NDP also say its time to amend the Fishing Industry Collective Bargaining Act to allow the Fish Price Setting Panel to consider a second price recommendation during negotiations.
The party said it also supports aquaculture, but the industry has to be developed in the right way.
The NL NDP favours a transition from open pen aquaculture to land-based, they state in their platform.
The party also says it will require any new aquaculture enterprise to ensure the marine environment is fully protected and locally-farmed fish is processed locally.
The party also said there should be more help for young people and new entrants to become fishing enterprise owners.
The NDP said one way to do this would be to remove barriers to the loan guarantee program.
The Newfoundland and Labrador fishery is a billion-dollar a year renewable industry. Yet it is often treated as an afterthought in policy, as government chases the latest bright shiny idea rather than reinvigorating the industry that sustained us for centuries," the party states.
The NL NDP wants our fisheries to thrive and grow, continuing to provide employment, and supporting our coastal communities for years to come.
Read the NDP's full platform.
In a Zoom call with reporters on Tuesday morning, the provincial fisheries minister Elvis Loveless answered questions about joint management and corporate control.
On the question of possibly pursing joint fisheries management with Ottawa, Loveless said, It needs to be a very important discussion. We should be more into the management of our fisheries and in control of it. Joint management has been talked about for years but we need to act.
On the matter of corporate control and foreign ownership in the provinces fish processing industry, Loveless said he believes the Fish Processing Licencing Board process is a good one. He added the Liberals would be open to ideas around adjusting the mandate of that board.
The province's approval of Royal Greenland's application to buy out Quinlan Brothers operations earlier this year drew criticism from the Fish Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) and fish harvesters.
They expressed concern over corporate concentration, foreign ownership and the potential for reduced bargaining power by fish harvesters.
According to Loveless he had asked the Fish Processing Licencing Board to review the issue of corporate concentration, and the board was in the process of putting together a (public) consultation process.
Whether or not that process will continue now be determined after the election.
The provincial election certainly wont be determined, wholly and solely, on fisheries issues.
However, according to the provinces 2019 Seafood Industry report, 16,000 people in 400 communities, many of them in rural political districts, depend on the industry for their livelihood.
And the specific fishery ideas outlined by each party could be the deciding factor when they cast their vote on Feb. 13.
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