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Fishery strategy falls short of renewing the fishery says Reid April 13, 2007
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Opposition Leader Gerry Reid says that the announcement by the federal and provincial governments this week to renew the province=s fishing industry falls far short of what is needed to address the major challenges crippling the industry and for the most part, the status quo prevails. The Liberal leader points out that the overall consensus that emerged from the premier=s fisheries summit last year was that the industry required a rationalization in terms of the number of fish harvesters, fish plants and plant workers. AA license buy-back for harvesters and an early retirement package for plant workers were two key solutions that all stakeholders agreed upon. The fact that these measures were not part of this so-called renewal strategy does little to strengthen the industry and as a result, the current problems will persist,@ says Reid. A The two levels of government had an opportunity to rationalize the industry by dealing with overcapacity, but failed to make the bold moves and invest the funding that were required. ALast spring, the premier called an impromptu fisheries summit for political reasons and to cover up his inability to deal with issues confronting the fishery. A year later, his government presents measures that hardly measure up to addressing the challenge. In fact, it does little to help the average fish harvester and the plant worker in this province.@ The Liberal leader says that the strategy presents a few good initiatives, including allowing for flexibility in vessel size which he says was long overdue. Reid doubts, however, that there will be many harvesters who will build larger vessels with declining stocks and lower prices for catches. A The marketing council to promote Newfoundland and Labrador seafood, while good in theory, is not likely to be effective with only $1 million allotted annually for this initiative. Given that the premier spent $250,000 in one day for ads to fight the Harper government over equalization, a million dollars won=t go far to promote Newfoundland and Labrador seafood on an annual basis. A far better move would have been to put that money towards buying the marketing division of FPI. AOverall, this federal-provincial announcement holds very little promise in terms of stabilizing the industry and that is a disappointment. The strong commitment to the industry=s renewal is evidently not there by either level of government. For the fishery ministers to call this a turn around day for the fishing industry in this province is simply political rhetoric. If this initiative was as good and positive as they would want us to believe, the premier would have been there to share in the credit. The absence of the premier at the news conference speaks volumes.@
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