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Opposition Fisheries critic Gerry Reid is concerned that meddling by
Fisheries Minister Trevor Taylor in the collective bargaining process
between harvesters and processors, along with the failed attempt to
implement a hail-at-sea auction, could delay the opening of the shrimp
fishery. "Industry sources are saying that the hail-at-sea auction system
brought forward by the minister is unworkable," said Mr. Reid. "Minister
Taylor has apparently removed it from the table and is now scrambling to
find a solution or an alternative just two weeks before the shrimp fishery
is scheduled to commence."
Reid also says Taylor made the situation in the fishery much worse by
interfering. "When he put the industry on notice in January that he would
impose a solution if they did not get one themselves, he caused everyone to
back away from the negotiating table and wait for him to impose his
solution. When he came forward with the hail-at-sea auction in February, I
expressed concerns that this proposal was not fully developed and ready for
implementation. Now it seems these concerns were well founded."
The Fisheries Critic says the minister’s failure to deal with this
problem properly could have very serious implications for people connected
to the industry and possibly the whole provincial economy. "With the fishery
scheduled to open on April 1 and no price established for shrimp, I fear the
fishery may not open. This could leave hundreds of vessels tied to the
wharfs and thousands of people unemployed. This problem is compounded
because the best quality shrimp are caught and processed early in the season
when temperatures are cooler.
"I have always said that the hail-at-sea auction concept would not work
in the shrimp fishery. For the minister to float the idea and now scrap it
is only making a bad situation worse. It is obvious that the little thought
and consultation with industry participants was conducted before he tried to
implement it.
"The minister’s handling of this situation demonstrates very bad
judgement. Rather than helping the situation he has created an even deeper
crisis than previously existed. At the time of the release of the Dunne
report and the announcement of the hail-at-sea auction, Premier Danny
Williams was pointing to the reorganization of the fishery as an example of
one of the positive changes his government was making. I wonder if he still
wants to boast about how the minister and his government are dealing with
the problems in the fishery industry." |