Ottawa announces no change for snow crab quota, harvester says, after days of protest

Fish harvesters who protested against cuts to snow crab quotas in northern Newfoundland have left meetings with federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson empty handed.

After waiting for a decision all evening, Richard Gillett, a crab harvester represented by the FFAW, told CBC News harvesters learned there would be no further changes to the quota in Zone 3K.

"We got the message from the minister that she said that there will be no more change in the management plan, and that she would be open to talk about buddying up or anything else that may help our fleet out in 3K," said Gillett.

A representative for Thompson told CBC News on Monday night that there would be no further update from the minister on the matter and to refer to a statement emailed earlier in the day before the decision was announced.

In that statement, Thompson said she was working to ensure a sustainable fishery into the future.

"The balance of sustainability of our oceans and of the livelihoods of those working on it is front of mind for me,"  Thompson said.

The quota is losing almost a quarter of last year's total allowable catch at 7,643 tonnes, down from 9,998 tonnes in 2024.

"We got a lot of disappointed people because they were really, really counting on this decision to be less than the 25 [per cent]. But from here, I guess it's more of the same old things from DFO," Gillett said.

Gillett said harvesters are especially disappointed because they believe there are discrepancies in the science that informs the quota. 

"Over the years of this government that we've had here, it's been nothing but torture on fish harvesters," Gillett said. 

"This is the problem. We have nothing else to go to. We have very small quotas in cod, very small quotas in herring, no mackerel fishery, that was shot down by this government. Capelin is down to historical lows. We really don't know where else to turn."

As to if the protests will continue, Gillett said on Monday night that harvesters need time to regroup before thinking about what comes next. 

On Sunday, protestors had parked themselves in front of Thompson's campaign office in St. John's, and then moved to the St. John's Convention Centre to bring their concerns to Thompson and Liberal Leader Mark Carney — who was in St. John's to open his federal election campaign.

The time spent on Sunday night resulted in two meetings with Thompson.

The first meeting was impromptu. The Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union, or FFAW, told CBC News the meeting did not go well. With only minutes to spare before Carney's arrival in St. John's, Thompson agreed to meet with the FFAW once more on Monday morning.

Carney acknowledged the protestors during his remarks and said he's ready to listen.

On Monday, the protest moved to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans office in St. John's.

Gillett, who attended both meetings, told CBC News earlier on Monday that the cuts to snow crab don't align with what harvesters are seeing out on the water.

"These gentlemen here, these are stewards of the fishing industry, of the biomass of the crab species right? They know what's going on on the water," Gillett said. "Where we're to right now, with what DFO is saying, the stocks are in peril. It's not the case."

The FFAW presented what they believe are faults in the DFO's science at the meetings.

"I think the only information is, you know, are you going to give us a more reasonable cut or any cut at all," Gillett said. "We need more harvester input in [the] science."

Gillett said that harvesters need to stick together while they waited for a ruling, and knows that message got through to Thompson.

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