Newfoundland fishermen’s anger at the provincial government’s decision to change the crab production quota system has resulted in a strike, demonstrations and a one-day blockade of oil tankers trying to enter Placentia Bay.
Early in March, provincial Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Trevor Taylor announced a new raw material shares (RMS) system for the crab fishery on a two-year pilot basis. Saying that the outlook for the 2005 crab fishery is “weak,” Taylor said he was taking the step “to act in the public interest.”
The fishermen say the plan will eliminate competition in the lucrative crab industry and take away “hard-fought power” from the harvesting sector.
In late March, fishermen voted to stay tied up at the dock. By mid April, the strike was continuing with no indication that it would end. Eighty-four of the fishermen voted in favor of a tie-up during 32 meetings held across the province. Nearly 2,600 fishermen voted.
At one point in March fishermen wearing T-shirts saying “a promise is a promise” forced the House of Assembly to close briefly for two days in a row as they shouted down the Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister.
Earle McCurdy, president of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers, said the strike vote and high turnout sent a “clear and decisive message” to the government that production quotas are totally unacceptable to fishermen.
Both Taylor and Newfoundland/ Labrador Premier Danny Williams indicated that the quota decision would not be changed. “We’re not going to allow the union to force us or blackmail us into acting in another manner,” Williams said.
“In trying to defend the indefensible, the Premier is taking real liberties with the facts,” McCurdy responded.
On April 13, fishermen prevented tankers from navigating through Placentia Bay, stalling work at North Atlantic Refining in Come By Chance and the Whiffen Head transshipment facility. The protest ended April 14, “as a gesture of good faith,” according to the fishermen.