Lobster prices for fishermen in two Canadian Maritime provinces are low while retail prices are high, and in New Brunswick lobstermen want to know why. But on Prince Edward Island they think they’ve figured it out.
Rory McLellan, general manager of the Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association, is charging price fixing by the processors, and he’s citing a letter from Ken MacDonald, president and CEO of Polar Foods in Charlottetown, to Kent Scales, CEO of Prince Edward Island Business Development Inc.
The letter, which was leaked to McLellan, says in part: “As we speak, two off-island interests, specifically the Daley Brothers and Barry Group, both of Newfoundland, are acting on their own accord and have established the shore price of $5.00 for canner lobsters and $5.75 for market lobsters.”
In mid-September lobstermen were getting $4.25 and $5.25 (Canadian) per pound. The retail price was $11 per pound for large lobsters in both provinces.
MacDonald’s letter continues: “The prices being offered by [the] Daleys and the Barry Group are contrary to shore prices agreed upon by all other processors on P.E.I. Polar and the other processors are viewing this blatant defiance as an obvious attack on Polar and the P.E.I. processing industry.”
McLellan sees the phrase “prices agreed upon by all other processors” as the smoking gun, but he says that the RCMP’s commercial crime division has determined that the letter doesn’t necessarily prove price fixing. But McLellan says that he is awaiting a ruling by the federal Competition Bureau. “I got a form letter back from them,” he says, “so I don’t know how much help we can expect; we’re probably a pretty low priority. But we’ll see.”
In New Brunswick, Maurice Theriault, project officer for the Maritime Fishermen’s Union, based in Shediac, says, “I don’t understand it. Retail prices are high, $11 a pound. Prices are generally higher in the fall when there are fewer boats. But our prices are down.”
He adds, “This is abnormal. Based on past years, we were expecting higher prices. The opening prices now should have been better than the closing prices in the spring. We know that the processors are using just the tails for meat, but that doesn’t explain our prices.”
Theriault says that he thinks the New Brunswick processors are not being straight with the fishermen. “Fishermen in the area feel that they are being deceived with very poor landings in the south and record high prices being charged to consumers – something is wrong with the system.”
Noting that he has talked to lobstermen on P.E.I. Theriault says, “It’s clear that the situation is the same all over this zone.”
He says that his organization is “trying to find out what’s happening.” As for any kind of future action he adds, “We could protest in some way, but I think maybe the way to go is to get legislation that will permit us to go into collective bargaining. All I know is that we’ve got to do something.”
Calls to processors’ spokeswoman Jan Spinney were not returned.