According to a recent article in St. John’s Telegraph, Earle McCurdy from the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union, and Derek Butler of the Association of Seafood Producers, met with Fisheries Minister Clyde Jackman yesterday to discuss a possible end to the stalemate that has stalled crab season.
Controversy first erupted when the government proposed that a pound of crab sell for $1.34, a price that fisherman thought was too low and processors thought was too high. The debate has led to a more than 20-day standoff and heightened anxiety among fisherman and townspeople.
The only major news made public after the meeting was that the government wasn’t ruling out using public money to bolster the suffering crab industry. If a solution is not found soon, more than 20,000 fishermen could be affected, and the province could lose millions of dollars.
“We’sre getting very, very close to the 11th hour, if not the 12th hour. It’s an urgent situation and at the moment it’s not resolved,” McCurdy was quoted as saying in the Telegraph.
