Fishery - the One Billion Dollars Solution

If you can first put aside the learned hatred of everything fish for one moment - then we might start pulling on the same oar.

Ottawa is responsible for the collapse of the fishery as they control the management of the stocks and fishing grounds.

20 years after a moratorium slated to last 10 years - we are collapsing further.

This is not the time to downsize or rationalize - we will not have an industry left. All we will witness is GDP and that will be attributable to unprocessed fish being gouged by a few corporations.

Now is the time to seek a real solution.

We have lost a billion a year since 2002 when the moratorium was supposed to be over. That did not happen.

Because of that we have lost twice that - as we have also lost transfer payments (per-capita) - due to population loss - that pays for transportation, health, and education.

We have also lost communities, investment, families, depreciated asset value, and future industrial potential.

If we demand that Ottawa - pay up - 1 billion x 10 years = 10 billion so far and counting.

Why are we rationalizing?

Why are we downsizing?

Because we have lost our fishery!

That is not acceptable.

We need our fishermen for science, research, and industrial planning.

We need our plant workers to work on new product lines.

We need these people and our provincial government to work on markets.

Is this a reasonable ask?

Of course it is - the feds bail out agriculture year over year to preserve food security, communities, families and that industry. Remember that the feds are not even responsible for drought, floods, market woes, and foreign subsidization for our competitors. They still pay - year over year.

Of course it is - the feds bailed out Ontario when the auto-makers collapsed and industry suffered in Central Canada. Billions and billions. They were not responsible for that occurrence.

They are responsible for the loss of the ground-fish stocks and are responsible for not protecting the fishing grounds. They are responsible for bartering our fish stocks away to foreigners so that other provinces would get manufacturing and industrial investment.

Instead our politicians are sucking their thumbs and doing nothing to correct this problem. We have suffered a grave injury and we are entitled to compensation.

Instead our politicians are looking for ways to boot people out of the fishery with a package.

Instead our politicians are looking to downsize and rationalize.

There is no rationalization - there must be compensation.

Then 25,000 of our people per year could be doing something beneficial - to help rebuild stocks, develop product and markets, and foster growth in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

Why is it that Newfoundland and Labrador is not demanding what is just?

Why do we keep letting the feds off the hook?

Why are we allowing not only the continued loss of stocks but downsizing science, SAR, and other critical assets to this industry?

Why indeed!

Dunderdale and Company - Partisan? Disinterested? Incompetent?

The attitude of disinterest, boredom, annoyance and/or anger of many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians toward the fishery, fishermen, and plant workers is a mistake.

The politicians from all parties have played a very partisan and dangerous game with the people of our province as it relates to this resource and bureaucrats both provincially and federally have made it worse by juggling death versus dealing with the continued problem.

The fishery is our history and should be our future - but in order for that to be the case a number of things have to happen.

1. Our history in the fishery must be fully and publicly disclosed and discussed so that all people in our province can learn to respect, value, and protect this vital renewable resource.

2. An injury has occurred and our province - communities and people - are the injured party. We need to assess the injury, determine the party/ies that caused the injury, value the injury, and then do what is necessary to achieve compensation for the injury.

3. Based on the compensation arrangements the province must move forward to develop plans for recovery, science, enforcement, community, environmental and the future.

4. Further these plans must be broken down to include; immediate actions, medium term actions, and long term actions. One to fifty years would be appropriate.

5.The province must desist making new arrangements with "processors" that want to export raw material and must move toward harvesters co-ops and redevelop a marketing division for products either processed or unprocessed of this resource.

The "rationalization" of the fishery which government and others claim is occurring is nothing more that a desperate response to a disastrous situation which has yet to be dealt with properly. Each and every week we are hearing of the closure or downsizing of plants and facilities and communities losing their primary employer.

This is not a sustainable answer to what will bring economic disaster.

Dr. Phil Earle and Gus Etchegary are not sounding the very loud alarm bells for no reason and these retired individuals are not as passionate as they are without reasoned concern. They are as worried as you should be.

The moratorium of our stocks began in 1992 - this caused a massive upheaval in this resource sector and we lost about 80,000 people from our workforce and most from our province altogether.

We should have experienced significant recovery by 2002 and should have been on our way to sustained recovery. This according to the people responsible for managing the resource.

We all know this did not happen and now we are in 2012 - with no reasonable end in sight.

To alleviate the loss of our ground fish sector - we increased the catch of our shellfish. We all know this is not a good thing and eventually will cause further catastrophic consequences.

Despite the catch increase in other species - thousands of people were removed from this fishery and no doubt hundreds of our rural communities have suffered.

Throughout this mess - the kingpins of the fishery needed to maintain and grow profits - so fisheries policy has revolved around keeping them afloat. The latest of course is to give them stocks without the necessity to process. This has resulted in further losses to the people in general but the continued wealth building for those already so endowed.

If you can get your head around the problem it equates to a loss of a billion dollars a year plus the loss of people, loss of communities and devalued assets.

Try and consider the following. Let's say you lost your job in St. John's or Metro - no doubt you would feel the pinch and be worried about your next paycheck - just like the people displaced on the Burin Peninsula. Let's add that you had been at the same job for 20 or so years and have invested in things like a house or property. If you went to sell that asset in St. John's Metro you would enjoy an increase in the value of your asset upon sale. Now for one moment put yourself in a rural community that has just lost it's only significant employer - and then you needed to sell your house. You would suffer major losses as the equity you built would disappear - as the market was no longer there for resale.

Also consider that with the low unemployment rate in St. John's Metro - you may be able to find another job to make ends meet - while the person in the rural community would not have that option. In your case you may be able to keep your home - or sell for a profit and downsize - whereas the person in the rural community would have to sell their property, move and not even have the option to rent out their home - NO Market.

Some of the more fortunate ones in the affected community may be in a position to retire - thereby staying in their own home - that is if they are not still indebted. Let's say they can stay in their own home and actually live another 20 or so years. What services will remain where they live? What will they do with no family remaining in the community? None of these issues are a problem in St. John's Metro - YET.

You see the losses resulting from a collapsed fishery will hurt us all. The worst is yet to come - if we do not fix the problem.

This is only the tip of the iceberg.

For those who are still in their productive work life - the choice will be to move away and find work elsewhere. Where will they pay tax? What will happen with their children? Will they ever come back?  Will we lose a significant number of our next generation? If we do - who will pay for the seniors left behind? Who will pay for the increase in personal care home usage? Who will pay the medical bills of an aging population besieged with chronic illnesses - more prevalent in Newfoundland and Labrador?

Then factor in all the boomers who moved away 20 years ago when the fishery first collapsed. Many of these people will return home upon retirement after having paid all their taxes to another province. That places an increased burden on a taxation system that did not receive the benefit of their taxes for the past 20 years. How will these shortfalls be covered?

What about resettlement? You know that government is always looking at that when their finance gurus are explaining the problem mentioned above. Are we going to resettle 100 or more communities? How much will that cost? Where will they move to? If we pick 5 regional centres and move them all there - what will be the increased burden on those cities or towns?

If not resettlement how does government pay for the upkeep of thousands of kilometres of roads - deteriorating badly? How does government afford to keep reasonable health services in those communities?

Now let's talk about the taboo - OIL - what happens when that oil is gone? When will it be gone? What will happen to our cities and regional towns? We have lost two mills, mines, and may lose our last mill. We will have no oil sector and the fishery will be dead.

I will guarantee one thing - if the future plays out as discussed above - the leaders - our politicians of the present day will not be around. They may retire in Florida on the lucrative pension we provide them. They may move to a - then recovered Ontario. Their children will be provided for. Kathy Dunderdale may huff and puff every time her choices are questioned - but she WILL have a pension.

Our biggest problem is that our politically based system is very similar to a quick-buck corporation - concentrate on the now - the next few years - the next election. Unfortunately they see this as their job instead of being the keepers of our future.

If we build Muskrat now - there will be lots of jobs now and make them look good. Unfortunately there are no measurable numbers of long term jobs but there is certainly measurable long term debt. So while the shareholders of Emera will enjoy increased profits through guaranteed returns - we the owners, the taxpayers and ratepayers will suffer.

Our system of immediate political rewards, needs, and votes is also costing us at the Federal level. Right now - I am convinced that Stephen Harper can strip our province of every benefit of "con"federation - and Dunderdale will let it happen as long as the loan guarantee carrot exists. 

We need vision and we need it now.

We need leadership and we need it now.

We need a plan and we need it now.

We need action and we need it now.

These games - childish political games - played by incompetent, disinterested, and/or partisan people with an need to satisfy the next polling period - will destroy us.

These politicians who through their own words, excuses, and frustration cause you and me to detest the fishery with them.

You think you can afford to not care about the fishery? Think again.

Premier Prepared to Punish People of Marystown?

Watching Kathy Dunderdale threaten Kiewit on the news the other night would be laughable if not so terribly serious.

The Premier suggested that she or "we" would not be held hostage to a company - and if the company did not back off - she would shop the contract outside the province.

If she punishes Kiewit and builds a ferry or ferries outside the province - who does she think will hurt?

How much did Kiewit pay for the shipyard?

Yes how much indeed - that was after Friede Goldman Newfoundland filed for bankruptcy protection after themselves buying the yard for a buck from the province.

This government seems hell-bent on punishing our people or at other times local companies.

Where was this punitive position when Kiewit dropped our chance at 20 billion in work from the feds?

As I recall the government particularly the Premier and Minister for Business thought it was wonderful as that meant Kiewit was so busy with work in the province that they could not entertain billions of dollars in federal work.

The Premier now seems determined to get rid of that problem and maybe move that work offshore.

From the Hansard April 12th 2011 

MR. DALLEY: Mr. Speaker, the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy has been ongoing for a number of years. Our government and my department have been fully engaged with Peter Kiewit Sons through a series of meetings, discussions, and very open communication. We were advised late last week that Peter Kiewit Sons has decided to withdraw from the process.


They have cited publicly that their reason for withdrawing is the fact that they have too much work. They are not in a position right now to focus on the bid. As a result of securing some recent contracts and as a result of opportunities that are coming up in the Province, Peter Kiewit Sons feel they want to focus on that work, focus on hiring Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and, Mr. Speaker, we are very pleased with the decision. 
PREMIER DUNDERDALE: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was a young woman growing up in Burin when Marystown Shipyard was constructed. I understand the importance of that facility to all of the people on the Burin Peninsula.

Mr. Speaker, is it not a wonderful thing that Kiewit can walk away from a thirty-five year contract bidding because they are so overwhelmed with work? There is so much going on right here in this Province that they do not have the capacity to take on more work.

What happened to all that love I wonder? Now it's a threat and she may very well remove the work from Marystown.

We are being ripped apart rural community by rural community, industry by industry, resource by resource. 

Clawing our way Forward - Co-op-eratively

Fisheries Policy in Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador is - to say the least - a failure.

1. Our ground fish stocks were destroyed by federal management.
2. We have lost 80,000 people from our province as a result.
3. We have lost dozens of communities as a result.
4. Continued decline of processing these natural resources.
5. Continued increase in Corporate desire to ship unprocessed catch.

The lobster fishermen in our province are moving forward with a "new" approach to their fishery by voting to form a Co-op. This in turn allows them more control with respect to pricing and offers them alternatives to the continued control of pricing by the buyers/processors.

Sounds great to me.

How about this?

If the species is processed in the province - let the harvesters and buyers/processors work it out while growing jobs for secondary added value.

The only time the government of Newfoundland and Labrador should consider a request to ship raw catch out of the province is when that request comes from a harvesters co-op.

If you want to be a processor - then process. Do not seek to become a harvester by proxy - while diminishing the real economic potential of value-added production.

The province should then reinstate a marketing arm that will help harvesters sell their catch to foreign markets - when processors have no interest in value-added production of the species.

The government of Newfoundland and Labrador have a responsibility to all people of the province and in the socio/economic well being of same. The corporate processors have responsibility to make as much profit as possible for the shareholders of their companies.

Dr. Phil Earle responds to Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield

Below please find a response to Federal Fisheries Minister - Keith Ashfield from Dr. Phil Earle

 

Dear Minister Ashfield, March 1/2012

Part 1  

I would like to respond to your letter in a step wise manner, and I would like for you to answer my comments for the people of this province.

First what does “..we are time and again being out-performed by smaller countries with less access to the resource” refer to? Are you talking about NAFO countries that fish on our shelf, such as Spain? If it is, the answer is Spain has one of the largest fishing fleets in the world which is subsidized nearly a billion dollars a year by the EU to fish around the world.

Further if you and the DFO are inferring that we should therefore increase our efforts to catch more fish it would be a totally wrong conclusion. Our ground fish stocks have never recovered and are at an all-time low of less than 10% of historic healthy levels. We need to stop the fishing destruction that is occurring at present so the stocks can be allowed to recover. That includes the fishing inside our 200 mile EEZ and that of NAFO fleets fishing on the nose and tail of the grand banks.

Quote, “everyone is demanding change in how we manage the resource.” This is a non-specific remark that can be taken in a range all the way from more of the disastrous federal government’s mismanagement that has, and is destroying the resource to reducing government involvement in management while letting more influence in management from improved, prudent, scientific input like is done in other successful countries like Norway and Iceland.

 
“Canadian fishermen remain among the lowest earners in Canada.’ This is because the bulk of our resource and its profits are in the hands of a few powerful, wealthy people who own processing operations, and own quotas which your government gave to them. They operate factory freezer trawlers which have taken thousands of jobs away from inshore fishers while they send unprocessed fish away from our shore planets, giving jobs to foreign nation. Many harvesters’ licences are owned or contorted by corporations so that fishers working at sea have been squeezed out of their incomes by the need of companies to increase their profits.

 
There are people, such as doctors and dentists and the like, living on the main land who have never stepped on the deck of a boat who own fish quota’s, they receive millions of dollars a year from royalties on fish being caught. There is only so much profit that can be taken out of each season of fishing, if large percentages of this limited profit is taken by such ‘outsiders’ there is less and less for our fishers and plant workers.

 
Consider that in 1992, the year of the moratorium, our NL fishery was worth some $350 million and today it is near $900 million but yet our situation is worst then in 92 as we are losing more jobs and plants, fishers and coastal communities. So it’s easy to understand why our fishers are among the lowest earners in Canada, it is just economics 101. You can understand that can’t you?

“Canada’s fishery is becoming a smaller and smaller player on the world stage. We are no longer seeing the abundance of fish that our country enjoyed in the past, so we can no longer rely on the quantity of this renewable resource to create economic prosperity; better management practices are required. Our government has been making strides in helping the fishery.’

Our fishery is smaller because the bio mass of our fish is at an all-time low, the stocks have been destroyed are not allowed to recover because of mismanagement of the federal government. Your government wants to create economic prosperity for the elite few who now control the fishery.

Part 2  

Continuing the same practices that you have created in the past for giant corporations that has destroyed, and is, and will totally destroy the rest of the resource in the future if you continue in the manner you are implying in this letter.

 
The only way you can create further economic prosperity for anyone from our depleted, dying resource is for less and less peoples and corporations to take more and more of the less and less fish. You know what that means don’t you. In 10 years there will be no fishers, no plant workers, no comminutes in coastal NL and lastly no fishing corporations..because there will be no more fish.

Your government has been making strides in one direction, not in the direction of helping the fishery, but in the direct of destroying it, destroying our treasured heritage and our coastal communities, our maritime culture and our family structure. That is a Fact!

In 62 years of confederation you have taken away our spirit fish, by giving it indifferently to foreign countries, denied its access from our coastal people, and allowed cooperate greed to privatize and garbage can our legacy. You and you alone, the federal government of Canada, have destroyed the spirit of my people, whose ancestors were once the greatest fishermen in the world, the greatest sea people that ever lived.

”We must find ways to make the fishery more valuable, profitable and respectful of the resource for future generations.” If by value you mean the economic success of a few large processing companies there will be no respect of the resource, the fish stocks that god gave us, and in a few short years it will be no more. Your concern for “future generations” in that case is not just hollow, political, empty words they are the insensitive, thoughtless comments from a government who conducts themselves with absolute power, that have corrupted it absolutely.

Your corruption of power and ego is so complete that not only will it destroy the opportunities of our “future generations” of children; it would destroy that of your own children. Take a bow to the world Mr. Ashfield; take one for Canada to the world!

And as for the World Bank suggesting what we should do with our fishery for more money, they have a great record of being concerned for the global economy and the plight of the world starving peoples, who are in the 100's of millions. Their 100's of billions in profits and 100's of millions of dollars for salaries to their CEO’s really show how concerned they are for incomes of subsistence fisheries and laborers all over the world. They are concerned because it’s off the backs of labor industries that they cream off their billions, all on the backs of the struggling poor. Take another bow to the world Mr. Minister, for figuring out that you can squeeze out a few more million for the rich by abusing the lives of the fisher people.

All this ”.. means more jobs and more economic growth in our coastal and rural regions.”
The audaciousness of this remark is beyond my ability to express. How dare you write a letter and say such a thing about our fishery and to my people, and put it in our paper the telegram. You talk about more jobs and more economic growth in our coastal communities when you and the federal government are directly responsible in 20 years for destroying our families, fishers and fisheries jobs by the 10's of thousands. 

Part 3  

What you, and the federal government, are advocating in this letter will destroy our coastal way of life. Our NL soldiers fought in the great wars for Canada and the free world. Fought to protect their children’s, and their children’s children democratic rights as written in Canada’s ‘Chartered Bill of Rights’. If there is an ounce of decency anywhere in the halls of parliament or in the hearts of any person or member who works there I ask for it to be used to do the duty they have sworn to do. Administer to the costal people of NL, and their fishery, the principles so outlined in our bill of rights. Save us from the impending future genocide of our coastal way of life.

You asked for my engagement in this letter, of how we can better manage our Fishery for the future and how our coastal people can improve and save their lives. I have given you my honest answer to the best of my ability, so help me god.

Will you answer these questions for my people? The fisher people, the sea people of NL?

Philip Earle
B.Sc., M.Sc., M.D

Darin King about to investigate OCI Operations? Fin in Mouth disease!

So our Fisheries Minister continued today - on a local talk show - to prove that his government is vindictive toward critics.

The Minister was all over the place unsure if he was against criticism or not - for punishment or not - in charge or not - or simply too frustrated to do his job.

The Minister now wants to restate his position from yesterday - when he informed Newfoundlanders and Labradorians that they may be punished if they criticize the government. Today he removed a million bucks from the FFAW because union chief Earl MacCurdy said the government was not spending it's money in the right places - within the industry.

So the Minister wants us to believe that of the over 50 million spent by government - only 1/50th of which is for special projects with the union - the only immediate concern was that of the FFAW. Darin you believe that Earl was saying that their projects were not worthwhile - so it was okay to start by cutting that?

No you did not believe that Minister King - do not lie. The FFAW was questioning how some investments of the government in the fishery might not be the best investments - so you - without any investigation cut the funds of the one group that spoke out?

Have you in any way contributed to the well-being of OCI? Have the people of Newfoundland and Labrador contributed any funds in any way whatsoever to that company? Has the government provided in any way - policy decisions - that were favourable to OCI?

I recall that OCI criticized King for denying its request for unprocessed export. The government has granted them exemptions in the past - right? Now that Ches and Company have criticized the Minister - how will they be punished?

King went on to talk about the frustration he feels when the FFAW talk about things that he (provincial fisheries Minister) does not have jurisdiction over (fish quota's). Minister - has the government stepped in on quota allocations before?

Where did OCI get all these assets anyway? Was FPI sold? What was sold? Buy it back.

While we are at it - now that OCI has criticized government - will you Minister King launch a full review of their operations and determine if government should be supporting anything at all that it asks for?

As for pointing the finger at the feds and saying it's them not us - and we can't criticize them because they punish critics - the same way you do - then we are all in a mess.

Perhaps it's time for Darin to be shuffled before he puts more fins in mouth.

Loyola Sullivan and his "messiah’s fisheries salvation"

Please read below a response by Dr. Phil Earle to Loyola Sullivan's address to the NL Employers' Council. 

The Sullivan's presentations this week, at the Newfoundland and Labrador Employers’ Council’s annual awards luncheon and appearances in the media, has been nothing but public deception. L Sullivan’s speech preposterously pontificated the salvation of our fishing industry and our fisher people. His pronouncements are nothing more than that of a personal, brain locked, cooperate philosophy, one which is destroying our Fishery.

The knowledge that explains the truth in the facts of the references that Mr. Sullivan used to support his messiah’s fisheries salvation of "the only way forward in the fishery’ ' is to modernize it the way I'm telling you', is not the saving of our fisheries future but it’s result will be, if followed, it’s tragedy. This is a destructive corporate philosophy,.. and efforts must be made to try and dissuade the influence it may have on Minister King and our government, dissuade them from giving what’s left of our resource over to OCI.

Imagine the audacity of saying that they know how to save and improve the fishery when they are directly responsible for closing numerous plants in 5 years, pitting our coastal people against each other...Marystown against Fortune, the trawlermen against trawlermen, saying members of the union are at odds with their union leaders. All the while they are sending fish out of here not processed, giving value added jobs by the thousands to elsewhere, and wanting all they can get to be FFT processed or given to Asia raw.

They have pitted industry people against each other, say that the government is harming them and the industry, and that we have an attitude in the province, of fishing like we did in the past and it is holding us back, all of which will destroy the Industry! The fact of it is what they are doing, from their powerful position in the industry, will lead to its total collapse... if.... our governments continue allowing them to rule the roost.

If OCI is allow to dictate the future of how we harvest and process our fish at home, in 10 years they will be out of business themselves, as will the industry as we know it. All that will remain will be the royalties they will receive from having Spanish fleets, and the like, fish their quotas. That is if there is anything left.

Imagine saying our government is not letting them compete with the rest of the world, when it has been their style of ineffectual competing which is destroying the stocks, harvesters, plant workers and their coastal way of life.

I get this image of our fishery... of a sock you missed in the washing machine, which is in the machine the next time you go to wash...a little squeezed up ball at the bottom and you reach in and take it out ....a cold, wet, bedraggled item. Our fishery is this beat up overlooked trashed out piece, of what was once part of something much, much larger, but is now something uncomfortable to touch or be involved with. And we have made it that way.

I hope to god, for the sake of our children and grandchildren that our government sees through this insanity of the ‘running of our fishery’ by the corporate book of modernization and success...because that will be, if permitted, the ruining of the fishery through the monopoly of greed and the insatiable wants of self.

Mother Nature has protected our fish stocks for eons, saving them from predations, diseases, shifts of temperatures and currents, the ice ages and the drift of continents ...but in all her wisdom she is not able to save our fish from fools. Only governments can do that.

Phil Earle

Minister Darin King's Fishy News Release

Below please find the News Release by Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture - Darin King.

I will highlight the concerns that I have with the statement. It looks like a public to and fro to demonstrate that the government is "protecting" our assets and people - but will the outcome at the end if the process give OCI what they want?

This looks like nothing more than a charade. I therefore will expect that OCI will attempt to pay off the people making noise by coming up with a package. King actually makes the complete case for OCI - and presents why OCI is having problems and how they understand this. If I were to guess I would suggest that what we were looking at here is exactly the deal that has been cut already with OCI. That's my take. Let's see what transpires. Export away - just not today.

 

Ocean Choice International’s Redfish and Yellowtail
Proposals Rejected by Provincial Government

After an extensive evaluation and review, the Provincial Government announced today that it is not satisfied that the redfish and yellowtail proposals presented by Ocean Choice International (OCI) provide the maximum possible benefit for the province.

“The Provincial Government sees no other option but to reject the groundfish proposals submitted by Ocean Choice International,” said the Honoruable Darin King, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. “This decision is based on consideration for what is in the best interest of the people of this province. Government wanted to secure a long-term commitment on former Fishery Products International quotas. These quotas are currently held between the province and OCI, through the Quota Holdco agreement established in 2007. We also sought enhanced benefits in relation to Fortune, and adequate support for displaced workers at Marystown and Port Union.”

On January 25, the Provincial Government met with officials from Ocean Choice International and clearly outlined its position in relation to the proposals. Unfortunately, the company showed no flexibility at that time. The company was given time to reconsider but has not come forth with a revised proposal to date. 

“We recognize that this is a difficult situation for OCI,” said Minister King. “Their predecessors, Fishery Products International, faced similar challenges and had comparable financial results. The economic circumstances for yellowtail and redfish remain challenging, particularly with the appreciation of the Canadian dollar and high fuel costs.” 

OCI’s financial circumstances for groundfish operations have been independently verified by the financial consulting firm Deloitte. The market outlook for redfish and flatfish has also been independently verified by the McDowell Group, a research-based consulting firm. The McDowell Group report can be found at http://www.fishaq.gov.nl.ca/publications/nl_flounder_and_redfish_report.pdf.

The Provincial Government requested 10 million pounds of flatfish to be processed in Fortune which is marginal compared to the overall global harvest of 750,000 tonnes. The Provincial Government’s analysis shows that the overall groundfish operation will achieve positive, albeit modest earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

Secondly, OCI indicated the desire to have the landing obligations associated with the company’s licence extinguished when the Quota Holdco agreement is due for renewal in approximately five years. While the Provincial Government is willing to consider multi-year exemptions, it believes that under the current circumstances it is possible that quotas would be lost to the province entirely and the resource could be landed elsewhere without any value to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Minister King also noted today that he is disappointed that no action has been taken for displaced workers with regards to the Provincial Government’s request for the company to provide a top-up to the current Fish Plant Worker Employment Support Program. The company and the union have not met to advance these discussions.

“The Provincial Government’s analysis shows positive results by moving yellowtail production to Fortune and an export exemption being granted for the remainder of yellowtail landings and redfish,” said Minister King. “However, given the current circumstances, I have no choice but to reject OCI’s proposals. While government recognizes that reorganization and rationalization in the fishing industry is essential to our long-term success, we will continue to ensure the best possible outcome for the province for the present and for the future. Our government remains receptive if OCI wishes to reconsider their position.”

- 30 - 

What if OCI said ICU Hebron and the little fishies went bye bye

I wonder if one of Ches Penney's companies would take a look at building a module for Hebron?
I wonder if the Government would assist to make that happen?
I wonder if the plant workers from Marystown could be appeased or at least some tradespeople?
I wonder if all that happened would government grant OCI the right to export the unprocessed fish?

Does anybody know?

I want the Auditor General to have a better look at the books. I want the whys and the processes - do you?

ICU OCI - When People of Good Will Disagree

So a Picture is worth a Thousand Words - Good then this will be a short post.

Funny - Minister Kennedy is not this receptive with all citizens who want a chat or give an opinion. That is particularly the case when he does not like commentary against government - except? It's all good - keep on exporting raw energy or whole fish - right?

Ches Penney and Jerome Kennedy Luncheon Carbonear January 27th 2012

 

Not sure what Derrick Dalley is thinking.

Photo was taken by Bill Bowman - The Compass

OCI and Advice to Minister King

Below is a letter to Fisheries Minister Darin King from the Fisheries Community Alliance

January25th/2012

Hon.Darin King,

Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture,

St. John's, NL

Dear Minister,

                       Over the last few weeks the request of OCI to export unprocessed fish and the expected response of our Government have occupied the minds of fishery participants in the Province. We understand your decision will be made public in the near future and we therefore wish to consolidate the views of the Fisheries Community Alliance on the subject and inform the Minister accordingly.

1)  Following detailed discussions with marketing experts in Europe, North America and Asia we have identified the current state of resources in various fish exporting countries and the demands of the main importers and exporters of fish products by species in those countries. There is no doubt there is a market for round fish for direct consumption in Asia, especially for small, undersized round fish. But that market has existed for the centuries. There is also a market for large fish that is processed into finished products for the US or EU market and the value of which is increased through injection of 15/20 percent water into fillets. We can provide you with the formula used in

Asia.

2) The quality of exports of Asian seafood products is now being seriously questioned by US authorities and a US Senate Committee is about to be formed to deal with problem.

3) There was and still is a very strong market for processed primary and secondary fishery products in Europe, the US, Canada, Asia and some South American Countries. There are well over a one and half billion people in those countries who are sophisticated seafood consumers paying prices far exceeding  those in China or Vietnam. There should not be a problem in that market to sell a miniscule quantity of yellowtail fillets if a N&L fish exporter had an effective marketing and sales

organization.

4) The Deloitte verification of OCI losses must be further investigated. Not as far as its accuracy is concerned but the question is, does it include the costs of its FFT harvesting, landing frozen fillets in Bay Roberts and later trucking to Marystown plant. Then having thawed the fish, processed it in the largest and most expensive plant in N&L in terms of fixed costs, the operators surely had to know it would be difficult to compete with harvesting by an efficient wet-fish trawler and processing in a smaller and far less expensive plant. This would have avoided exporting badly needed N&L processing jobs.

5) Exporting unprocessed  fish by OCI will result in a mass demand by all harvesters to export their catch and the resultant loss of thousands of plant processing jobs. That loss will be permanent and we will lose the processing expertize that has taken 70 years to develop and train those workers.

6) The growing export of unprocessed fish which includes an increased percentage of small, undersized fish will destroy any hope whatever of rebuilding our once huge groundfishery.  It is an undeniable fact that without restoration of the groundfishery fishing communities in N&L will not survive. Federal and Provincial authorities by granting the licenses to export large and small, undersized fish are contributing to the demise of the N&L fishery. The Province must take a leadership role in stopping this activity and seriously promoting the resource rebuilding process by confronting the Canadian Government on major issues being discussed in the Free Trade negotiations with the EU, NAFO fisheries mismanagement and DFO reduction in N&L fisheries management

responsibilities and particularly in the area of fishery science capability and the retention of necessary top level scientists and technologists.

We sincerely hope our Government will take into consideration the major impact the continuation of exports of unprocessed fish will have on the fishing population of N&L. We, the members of the Fisheries Community Alliance are convinced it will eventually destroy what's left of our diminishing resource and the survival of many N&L fishing communities.

Yours very truly,
Gus Etchegary

Chair

Fisheries Community Alliance.

The House of Dis-Assembly - Get your Act(s) Together

Okay now maybe I get it. If the House of Assembly were opened now - the questions would be primarily about closures, downsizing, rationalizing, outsourcing, and generally the disassembling of Newfoundland and Labrador. 

Seal Harvest
Fish Plants
Shipbuilding
Fabrication
Old Harry
New Energy
Old Stephen
New Stephen
Lost Jobs
Lost Communities
Lost Plants
Abandoned Proposals
Federal Cuts
Marine Atlantic
Paper Mills
Aging Population

If Danny were Premier now would he admit the Hip and Coolest Province in this Country today is Nova Scotia? He should - he has been a real part of their growth. Try and compare the headlines over the past year for Nova Scotia and then do the same for Newfoundland and Labrador.

No worries the House of Dis-Assembly has more important things to deal with - like perhaps how much money each side gets to generate no ideas, no questions, and from our government - how low can we go? The reality is - they each have a compliment of staff - plenty to do what is necessary to keep this government in check. Is it fair? No probably not - but get on with it - with the numbers you have there is no trouble challenging this government.

They should remember all the bloggers - most have other jobs - look at the questions they generate, the news stories they cause, the talk shows they fuel and all that for what? Okay Stephen (NL Blogroll) we need you to head up a committee on this. The government spends more time on the local Bloggers sites than searching through the policy papers, News Releases, or studies generated by the Opposition parties.

And finally this recommendation: your new bedtime story should be a Chapter of the Auditor General's Annual Report. Happy Reading.

What happened to Good Public Policy? Ask Tom Rideout!

The following is a statement made by Tom Rideout when in government and Trevor Taylor was the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. 

Do they still believe it is Good Public Policy?

MR. RIDEOUT: Mr. Speaker, again, I cannot control the flights of fantasy that the Leader of the Opposition might engage in, but the fact of the matter is, he knows, everybody in Newfoundland knows, the people in Harbour Breton know, the people in Fortune know, the people in Marystown know, the people in other communities around know, that those quotas are assigned to a company. They are not assigned to a community.

Now, should there be community quotas? Maybe, but the fact of the matter is, the reality of the matter is, right now the quotas that used to be assigned to National Sea, we were able to purchase and have them repatriated to Arnold’s Cove. I think that is good public policy. When we speculate on doing that, in terms of the FPI operation, the Leader of the Opposition comes down on us like a ton of bricks.

Mr. Speaker, you cannot have it both ways. You are either for that as a public policy option or you are not. So, yes, that is one option and there are many others that we are exploring.

Let's Revisit 2007 and FPI - Why do we ask Questions?

Sue's Blog posted the following in 2007 just after the deals were cut to slice and dice FPI.

For those of you who wonder why I and others ask questions about natural resource policy - read below.

Don't be so cocky about brushing off the questions regarding Muskrat Falls.

FIRST PUBLISHED August 24th 2007

What has Premier Williams managed to do that other Premiers could not?

...allow the destruction of FPI.

I am upset today as a Newfoundlander and Labradorian - are you?

While equity in non-renewable assets is the order of the day for Williams - valuable renewable assets and associated business get the thumbs down.

A Nova Scotian based company ends up with the lucrative North American marketing arm of FPI - yahoo!

How many Sullivan's does it take to consume FPI?

Give me a penney and I'll tell you.

This is pathetic and deserves as much negative attention as the Hebron MOU deserves positive. The fishery until Danny Williams became the Premier - was referred to as the backbone of our economy. Nowadays - I think the government MHA's are careful or told not to say that.

As most of us should have observed by now Dean and Danny have a fetish for oil and gas and that is where the focus has been. It is nice to have the diversity of natural resources we have - but with Williams it will be oil oil oil and soon gas gas gas. The Premier just does not have the same protective passion for renewable - generational resources like the fishery - hydro-power - and wind.

Today I will focus on the fishery. Regardless of how the Premier or his top-spinner Ross Reid might plan and roll out announcements during polling period or just before an election - they are just inadequate when it comes to that resource of the sea.

Danny is the man to fight Ottawa over equalization (oil revenues primarily) and fallow field legislation - but when it comes to the fishery - he is impotent. The grand fisheries conference a year or so ago - has produced nothing new.

Do you see Williams pulling an ABC because there is no early retirement package - or inadequate federal money dedicated to science - the failure of the ground-fish stocks to recover well past the originally predicted time-frame? You have not heard a peep from him on proposed changes to the federal fisheries Act or the NAFO shenanigans brought to light by former DFO official Applebaum. Oil is sexy to St. John's, the business and construction labour communities - whereas fish is just this nuisance that the rural crowd keep pestering him about.

There is no doubt about it - Williams just does not have the guts - knowledge - interest - or some combination of them to take on the feds over the fishery - and further - the display of bravado to big oil companies - is just not present with the fish merchants. For some reason the Barry's - Penney's - and Risley's of the world are just too tough.

Here's a portion of the News Release put out by Highliner Foods International on the purchase of a portion of FPI assets:

High Liner Foods Incorporated today announced it has signed an agreement with FPI Limited and its subsidiary, Fisheries Products International Limited, to purchase its
marketing and manufacturing business.

FPI's marketing and manufacturing business consists of its North American
value-added food service and retail frozen seafood businesses. In 2006, the
business had sales of $452.9 million and gross profit of $43.5 million.

"This acquisition will be an important milestone in pursuit of our vision to become the leading value-added frozen seafood company in North America..."

So if they become the leading - where are we?

Just to put that in perspective:

Highliner

The company began in 1899 with the founding of W.C Smith & Company, a salt fish operation located in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia -- the current home of our head office and one of the most modern and diversified food processing plants in the world.

FPI

Fishery Products International is an industry leader in harvesting, processing, global sourcing, and marketing a wide selection of high quality seafood products. From its corporate headquarters in St. John’s, FPI manages primary and value-added seafood processing plants and a fleet of modern harvesting vessels.

From the few words which I have highlighted - can you see the problem already?

Please remember when the legislated restrictions are finally gone - the guarantees have a very short time-frame. The rural communities affected by this deal today - no longer have the protection of socio/economic policy attached to the harvesting of the resources adjacent to them.

First problem:

The Provincial Government has achieved a five-year agreement for the sustained operation of existing FPI facilities.

What happens then???

Second problem:

...we have made it a condition of sale that FPI and OCI proceed expeditiously with the transfer of the Fortune facility to Cooke Aquaculture. Is Cooke still interested? I thought not. (That's if you buy into Aquaculture being a panacea to replace the wild fishery) More on that in the next post.

So what happens now?

Third problem:

Sold to Highliner -

FPI's marketing and manufacturing business consists of its North American
value-added food service and retail frozen seafood businesses. In 2006, the
business had sales of $452.9 million and gross profit of $43.5 million. I wonder who benefits from that now?

What's the provincial portion of tax lost etc...What does Nova Scotia gain - and what does Newfoundland and Labrador lose?

NO EQUITY IN OR FOR THE FISHERY!

That's the real problem - so tilt your glasses and toast the man of the hour Danny Williams who has done what no other Premier could do before him - allow the destruction of FPI.

I will conclude by saying: In my opinion it's much tougher to make your million on a crab boat or prosecuting ground-fish than it is to make it off - let's say a bunch of poles and wires capable of bringing sports - news - and whatever else into your house!

80,000 people lost from coastal NL Letter to Minister King

Please find below a response to Minister Darin King from Dr. Phil Earl regarding the OCI situation.

Dear Minister King, Jan 10/12

As you can see, and not surprising, the quick response from OCI to our government’s announcement of refusing their request to ship out more unprocessed fish is one that can be likened to blackmail.

Their reaction is typical of the philosophy of the ASP corporations which are all about their own concerns of bottom lines and profits. If these corporations are permitted to continue dominating our provinces fishing industry and have inordinate influence with governments the future of the fishery and any hope of saving costal NL is doomed. The first, and main, duty and philosophy of our government should be to protect the jobs and peoples of our coastal fishing communities and not companies whose success appears to be also the success of the ‘industry’. How can their ‘industry’ success be success if at the same time it destroys the fisher people, their communities and the resource itself? The government must step in now to protect the resource for the future of our people.

Everything under the sun has been done and given to corporations for the holiness of saving and protecting their success and propagation. To the point where what was zero unprocessed fish shipped out a few years ago by FPI, is today 75% of shell and 80% of ground fish being shipped out. This fact alone is enough to explain all that has befallen our coastal plants and their workers in the past four years.

Stopping the exemption, as you have done, is the first step, reversing all the rest of the ‘unprocessed exemptions’ must be started, it is the only way that will give any air to the chance of restoring our Industry. This action may appear to be what would break the companies, if some can’t handle it then they would fold but that would only create the chance for others, smaller operations with different approaches, to be successful. Necessity is the mother of invention.

Regardless of my rambled, incomplete, remarks one over all description of the whole situation can be truthfully summarized. What OCI pertains to in the Industry is that group of corporations which cry out in every possible manner and way, at any cost to anything else or anyone else in their way, to continue their selective, personal or collective existence. On the other side of the balance scale in this situation is the survival of the fish stocks and the dependent fishers and their communities. That’s a fact.

We have been watching the tipping of these scales for 20 years, where stocks have disappeared, not recovered, 80,000 people lost from coastal NL and 40,000 fisheries jobs gone to hell, and a great part of this is due to what governments have allowed corporations to do on their end if the scales.

If you are really serious about wanting to protect the welfare of our fishers, our coastal peoples and saving our fishing heritage and culture you, our government, must act now and show the leadership that can save it. You are the government, you are the people. You cannot be directed by the chosen, corporate powerful, wealthy few, you must take your direction from the people. The people who are Newfoundland and Labrador. God be with you to do the right thing.

Respectfully

Philip Earle