Newfoundland snow crab pricing negotiations move behind closed doors

Snow crab fishermen and processors in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador have agreed to move pricing negotiations for the 2023 season behind closed doors.

Negotiations between the Fish Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) and the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) failed last week, sending a decision on the minimum price paid for snow crab to the Standing Fish Price-Setting Panel. The panel, comprised of three impartial members, will decide between prices offered by the two groups. 

On 30 March, the FFAW announced that final offers had been submitted by both parties to the panel, with the FFAW coming in with an offer of CAD 3.53 (USD 2.62, EUR 2.41) and the ASP offering CAD 2.15 (USD 1.59, EUR 1.46). That gap in price is slightly narrower than it was in 2022, when the FFAW’s initial offer was CAD 9.05 (then USD 6.73, EUR 6.18) while the ASP’s was CAD 7.60 (USD 5.65, EUR 5.19). However, the FFAW’s price offer is a 64 percent premium over the ASP’s this year, compared to just a 19 percent premium last year. 

After seeing the price offers on 30 March, the price-setting panel directed a continuation of bargaining – meaning the FFAW and ASP must continue negotiations. However, based on recommendations issued after challenging negotiations in 2022, the new price submissions won’t be made public. 

“Both parties agreed that neither would share further details until a final price decision had been made,” the FFAW said in a release.

Intense negotiations in 2022 resulted in calls for new management and changes in how the price process works. Fishermen and processors continued to clash over prices well after the negotiation process as the price plummeted, and the province reviewed ways it could avoid future conflict.

The negotiations face the deadline of the impending 10 April start date for the upcoming fishing season.

Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) announced that the quota for the snow crab fishery would get an 8.4 percent increase over 2022, increasing to 54,737 metric tons (MT). Fishing in the area with the largest quota – 3LNO, which received a quota of 32,224 MT – is scheduled to begin on 10 April, as is fishing in 3Ps and 4R3Pn.  

Photo courtesy of the Fish, Food, and Allied Workers Union (FFAW)