FFAW-Unifor Challenges Oceana Canada’s Misguided Narrative on Newfoundland and Labrador Capelin Fishery

ST. JOHN’S, NL –The Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW-Unifor), representing over 13,000 inshore fish harvesters and plant workers in Newfoundland and Labrador, strongly refutes Oceana Canada’s ongoing campaign against the capelin fishery. Oceana’s repeated calls to halt this vital fishery are rooted in flawed assumptions, selective data, and extremist views that dismiss the realities of the industry and the communities it sustains. Furthermore, Oceana lacks true stakeholder status in the fishery, undermining their credibility to influence its management.

Oceana Canada, an international advocacy group, has no direct connection to the capelin fishery or the coastal communities that depend on it. Unlike FFAW-Unifor members—fish harvesters and plant workers who live and work on the front lines of the industry—Oceana operates from offices far removed from Newfoundland and Labrador’s shores. They do not hold fishing licenses, process capelin, or contribute to the local economy. Their absence from the day-to-day realities of the fishery disqualifies them from claiming the same stake as those whose livelihoods depend on sustainable harvesting practices.

“Oceana’s demand to close the capelin fishery ignores balanced, science-based management and dismisses the socio-economic consequences for thousands of workers. Their rhetoric, which paints the fishery as a threat to ecosystems, exaggerates the impact of harvesting while sidelining natural factors like predation and environmental variability,” FFAW-Unifor President Dwan Street explains. “For example, Oceana fixates on the fishery’s removal of female capelin while ignoring the considerable depredation that removes capelin prior to the spawning season. Their all-or-nothing approach—shutting down a fishery rather than refining its management—is an extremist stance that disregards the nuances of ecology and economy,” she says.

Alarmingly, Oceana’s claim that the capelin stock is “critically depleted” at 9% of historic levels misrepresents the complexity of stock assessments.

“The 2024 stock assessment moved capelin from the critical to the cautious zone, reflecting improved biomass estimates, yet Oceana cherry-picks outdated figures to fuel their narrative,” Street says. “FFAW-Unifor members, who landed their 2024 quota in just three days, reported robust capelin abundance—directly contradicting Oceana’s doom-and-gloom portrayal.”

Oceana also downplays the role of natural predation, with millions of tonnes of capelin consumed annually by cod, seals, and seabirds, dwarfing the modest 14,533-tonne commercial quota.

The ENGO cites polling to suggest widespread public support for closing the fishery, but their surveys lack transparency and fail to capture the perspectives of those most affected—fish harvesters and plant workers. Coastal communities rely on the capelin fishery for jobs and cultural traditions, including the iconic “capelin roll” that Oceana romanticizes while ignoring its commercial importance. By advocating for closure, Oceana risks devastating rural economies without offering solutions to support displaced workers.

“FFAW-Unifor supports sustainable fisheries management grounded in science and true stakeholder collaboration,” Street says. “The capelin fishery has operated under strict DFO quotas for decades, with no evidence of collapse caused by harvesting.”

Rather than divisive calls for closure, FFAW-Unifor urges DFO to prohibit ENGOs from the stakeholder group, ensuring that management practices that balance ecological health with economic stability.

“Fish harvesters are the true stewards of our oceans,” says Street. “Oceana’s outsider perspective and alarmist tactics do a disservice to the people who depend on this fishery. We need solutions that respect science, support workers, and strengthen communities—not radical and illogical demands that tear them apart.”

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