Big Processors Turn Their Backs on Harvesters: Ocean Choice International and Royal Greenland Refuse to Buy Sea Cucumber at Panel-Set Price

ST. JOHN’S, NL – The Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW-Unifor) is calling out Ocean Choice International (OCI) and Royal Greenland for their callous refusal to purchase sea cucumber from Newfoundland and Labrador harvesters at the fair, Panel-determined price of $0.69 per pound – a decision that is actively damaging the viability of the inshore fleet and the rural communities that depend on it.

While several smaller processors have stepped up in recent weeks to buy sea cucumber at the Panel price, OCI and Royal Greenland – two of the province’s largest and most profitable seafood companies – continue to sit on the sidelines, leaving hundreds of harvesters tied to the wharf with no income from this valuable fishery.

“This is corporate greed at its worst,” said FFAW-Unifor President Dwan Street. “These companies rely on our members to supply crab, shrimp, cod, and countless other species that fuel their multi-million-dollar profits. Yet when it comes to sea cucumber – a fishery they claim to want – they’re perfectly willing to let harvesters suffer just to prove a point.”

The $0.69 price was set by the Standing Fish Price Setting Panel following extensive delays and negotiations, and was fully supported by export data and a third-party market report.

“It was the correct and evidence-based decision,” Street says.

Processors have every right not to buy – just as harvesters have the right not to fish. But the actions of OCI and Royal Greenland go far beyond market strategy. In a brazen act of union-busting, Royal Greenland recently attempted to source sea cucumber from vessels in St. Pierre-Miquelon at a price well below the Panel rate – a move that was swiftly and successfully blocked by harvesters in Grand Bank and Fortune.

“Royal Greenland was so desperate for product they were willing to trigger an international labour conflict. Yet they still refuse to buy from their own harvesters at home. That’s not business – that’s betrayal,” says Street. “These actions are the kind of behaviour our new Premier must take a close look at. Holding a processing license in our province is a privilege and not a right, and establishing new license conditions can put these companies back in check.”

FFAW-Unifor is calling on the provincial government to act decisively:

· Investigate the anti-competitive actions of OCI and Royal Greenland;

· Implement clear conditions on processing licenses;

· Enforce real consequences for companies that undermine the collective bargaining process and the sustainability of the inshore fleet;

· Hold processors accountable for the privilege of operating in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The new government made clear promises during the election to reform the processing sector – promises that cost nothing but political will, and that would deliver real benefits to rural communities. They also committed to ending the practice of shipping raw product out of province to suppress local competition – a tactic that hurts plant workers and harvesters alike,” says Street.

“It’s time for the government to keep its word. The people of this province – and the harvesters who feed this industry – deserve better than being held hostage by corporate tantrums,” concludes Street.