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A potentially damaging dispute over lobster prices in Newfoundland and Labrador has just been averted.
The two sides in the dispute, the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union and the Seafood Producers of Newfoundland and Labrador have agreed to a price of $3.65 (Canadian) per pound . The price will be reviewed every week until the end of the current season.
At first the workers union wanted a price of $4.25 a pound set by the Standing Fish Price-Setting Panel, which has the responsibility to rule on pricing issues. The seafood producers had said they could not afford and this triggered the dispute.
Seafood prices have become an emotive issue in parts of Canada of late. The industry itself - especially that part which exports to the neighbouring United States - has not been helped by the high value of the Canadian dollar, for example.
This lobster issue went to the state house of assembly where Fisheries Minister Clyde Jackman had threatened to allow local fishermen to sell to buyers from other provinces if a deal wasn't reached.
"We have agreed with the union now on a transparent process that will work for harvesters, that will work for buyers, and that's the basis on which we'll move forward in the lobster industry for the next few years," said George Joyce, seafood producers executive director.
This is thought to be the first collective bargaining agreement in the province’s lobster fishery.
Each week, either party can serve notice it wants a price review.Export market receipts will be provided to the third party, likely to be a chartered accountant, for analysis. But the database protects the confidentiality of individual buyers’ market information.
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