FFAW CALLS FOR PM TO AFFIRM 115,000MT COMMITMENT FOR COD
June 20, 2024
The Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW-Unifor) is calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to reaffirm the 115,000mt commitment to Northern cod before the management plan is released this season. The Union that represents 10,000 commercial fish harvesters in the province is sounding the alarm on the Government of Canada and the risk that the current government will renege on the longstanding agreement and give away cod to offshore draggers.
“The current government has not done our province any favours when it comes to their management of federal fisheries resources,” says FFAW-Unifor President Greg Pretty. “What we’re seeing is a massive transfer of owner-operator, community-based ownership to the offshore, corporate buddies of Liberal MPs,” says Pretty. “We saw it with Redfish this spring and now we’re looking down the barrel of another potential corporate giveaway. And not just any giveaway,” Pretty warns. “Northern cod has arguably just as much cultural significance as economic. I don’t believe that the Government of Canada realizes just how important the species is to Newfoundland and Labrador, and what could potentially occur if they go back on their deal,” he says.
“The 115,000mt commitment has been documented and reaffirmed since the 1970’s, by the great Fisheries Minister of our time, Roméo LeBlanc, and by the Federal Government in the decades since,” Pretty says. “But trusted sources say that this year they plan to go back on that commitment despite the inshore having plenty of capacity to handle the entire catch,” Pretty says.
The 115,000mt commitment as a concept is tied to a core mandate of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to support the economic sustainability of coastal communities as well as the preservation of the independent owner-operator fleet. It was most recently restated in 2021 within the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ (DFO) Integrated Fisheries Management Plan.
“Today, we’re asking every single Newfoundlander and Labradorian to sign onto our campaign, letting our federal government know to keep their hands off our Northern cod,” Pretty says. “Our members and the people of our province will not let a single pound of cod go to offshore draggers. The inshore owner-operator fleet has the capacity and the willingness to harvest every bit of the first 115,000, and they will hold Prime Minister Trudeau to task for his commitment,” Pretty says.
CLICK HERE TO READ FFAW-UNIFOR’S LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU