Minister Asks Crab Buyers for Co-operation

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Ernest Fage has asked snow crab buyers to keep their crab in Nova Scotia for the remainder of this season while the province works to establish long-term solutions.

On Tuesday, July 30, Mr. Fage met with licensed snow crab buyers and processors to discuss solutions to the latest issue surrounding the snow crab fishery. After much discussion, the minister put forward a two-point plan to address the situation.

"Given the trade challenges that are threatening the processing sector, it was necessary to ask the buyers for their co- operation," said Mr. Fage. "We had a chance to listen to each other and discuss how we can move forward in the best interest of the industry."

Since the Nova Scotia season opened, about two-thirds of the snow crab quota has been landed. In July, 47 per cent has been exported out-of-province for processing. Processing plants in Cape Breton and along the province's Eastern Shore have been left operating well below capacity and three have closed their doors.

The plan, which was discussed at the meeting, will address both short- and long-term issues. In the short term, the minister has asked buyers to offer Nova Scotia plants the first opportunity to buy their crab for processing. The 12 plants with crab processing lines have more than enough capacity to process the remaining quota -- about 12 million pounds -- that has yet to be caught this season.

"This was a request made to the buyers, not a condition of their license or a new regulation," said the Mr. Fage. "They understand the importance of this and I expect that they will continue to offer fishermen fair market prices and co-operate with my request."

The department has a regular reporting process in place to follow the movement of crab.

Over the long term, efforts will be made to address trade barriers and seasons. The minister has sent initial correspondence to his counterparts in Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Quebec requesting that they cease any unfair trade sanctions or practices. He will continue to stress to the federal fisheries department that the crab seasons must be changed to give Nova Scotia parity with other provinces.

Mr. Fage is anxious to work one-on-one with provinces that want to open up borders for fair and open markets. New Brunswick has already informed the department that they believe in open trade policies and are willing to discuss the situation further. The issue has also been put on the agenda of the Federal/Provincial Atlantic Fisheries meeting in August and will be proposed for the Atlantic Fisheries Ministers Committee meeting agenda in the fall.

During Tuesday's meeting, participants agreed to take part in a task force to work with the minister on these and other challenges facing the industry.

"Hopefully, we will be successful in addressing many of the issues before next year's season," said the minister. "We have seen snow crab develop into a $100-million fishery for many economically sensitive communities and want to see its continued growth and balanced development."

Twenty-three of the 37 independent buyers and buyer-processor groups were represented at the meeting. Those who were not at the meeting are being contacted today, July 31.