A deal might be on the horizon for N.L. fish harvesters protesting in St. John's

Jenna Head · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 24, 2025 3:44 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Hours spent extracurricular St. John's Convention Centre connected Sunday nighttime resulted successful 2 meetings with national Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson for Newfoundland and Labrador's food harvesters.

The archetypal gathering was impromptu. The Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union, oregon FFAW, told CBC News the gathering did not spell well. With lone minutes to spare earlier Liberal Leader Mark Carney's accomplishment successful St. John's, Thompson agreed to conscionable with the FFAW erstwhile more. 

That meeting, held connected Monday greeting successful St. John's, sparked the 4th time of protests, during which harvesters person been rallying against cuts to snowfall crab quotas successful the 3K area.

Gathered extracurricular of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans gathering successful St. John's, harvester Richard Gillett, who attended some meetings, said the cuts to snowfall crab don't align with what harvesters are seeing retired connected the water.

"These gentlemen here, these are stewards of the sportfishing industry, of the biomass of the crab taxon right? They cognize what's going connected on the water," Gillett said. "Where we're to right now, with what DFO is saying, the stocks are successful peril. It's not the case."

The snowfall crab quota successful the 3K part is losing astir a 4th of past year's full allowable drawback astatine 7,643 tonnes, down from 9,998 tonnes successful 2024. The FFAW presented what they judge are faults successful the DFO's science. 

"I deliberation the lone accusation is, you know, are you going to springiness america a much tenable chopped oregon immoderate chopped astatine all," Gillett said. "We request much harvester input successful [the] science."

"The equilibrium of sustainability of our oceans and of the livelihoods of those moving connected it is beforehand of caput for me,"  Thompson said successful an emailed connection Monday afternoon. 

"I americium committed to moving to guarantee a sustainable fishery contiguous and good into the future."

The FFAW expects an reply from DFO by Monday evening. Fish harvesters accidental they program to stay extracurricular the DFO until then.

"I tin archer you present that I'm seeing harvesters close present instrumentality unneurotic similar I person never, ever seen them before," Gillett said.

"We're not going anywhere. I deliberation that's large and wide to the minister."

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