Both the Fish Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) and the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) have submitted requests for a start price for the Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada snow crab season.
Each year the Newfoundland and Labrador Standing Fish Price Setting Panel chooses what minimum price seafood processors must pay snow crab harvesters during the fishing season. Both the FFAW and the ASP – which represent harvesters and processors, respectively – submit competing bids and pricing methodologies for the panel to choose from.
This year, the FFAW has submitted a CAD 4.97 (USD 3.50, EUR 3.20) start price for the season.
“This means that if harvesters in St. Anthony are delayed because of ice, they’re going to get the same price as a harvester in St. John’s who can set pots later this week,” the FFAW said in a release. “This matters because weather and other factors, like scheduling, means that some harvesters are disproportionately affected by fluctuations in price throughout the season due to factors beyond their control.”
FFAW said that finding a pricing structure took time, and that it has been pursuing a deal similar to what it achieved in 2024, which created a settlement price that was determined by receipts of the actual sales price of 5- to 8-ounce sections from the start of the fishery though three weeks after the fishery ended. That settlement price was 38.5 percent of the listed value of actual sales to Boston, which FFAW refers to as FOB Boston.
“That was an improvement from 2023, because we got pricing based on receipts – something we had been seeking for years, however we were limited by FOB Boston because we didn’t see receipts for sales to any other markets,” FFAW said.
FFAW said that this year it is seeking a higher percentage share, as the 2024 share was low compared to its historic share. It also said the percentage didn’t change as market price increased, “which is also how pricing has worked in the past; as the market price increases, harvesters tend to receive a greater share of the market.”
The union said this year its proposal is pushing for a sliding scale of 40 to 48 percent including sales receipts up to 31 October, and that has crewmembers paid directly from the processors – which are insurable earnings...
