The Fish, Food, and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, is calling for action after auditing firm Deloitte determined a final rebate amount of CAD 0.28 (USD 0.20, EUR 0.17) per pound of snow crab.
Newfoundland sets a minimum price for snow crab via the Newfoundland and Labrador Standing Fish Price Setting Panel, which in April 2025 determined harvesters would get a minimum of CAD 4.97 (USD 3.57, EUR 3.07) per pound for snow crab at the start of the season. As part of that decision, a rebate is given to account for fluctuations in price for snow crab across the season, with auditors using buyer sales receipts to determine how much more harvesters should have received.
Normally, that process is finalized in the fall, but in the process for the 2025 season, it was delayed multiple months and was finally decided 8 January; the FFAW and fishermen called the decision more evidence of the need for reforms in the industry.
“The rebate announced today is truly a gut-punch to our coastal communities. The rebate result goes far beyond a simple disagreement in price; we are now facing a reckoning in our industry,” FFAW President Dwan Street said in a release.
In its own response, the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP), which represents processors, said the review process by Deloitte included all sales of 5- to 8-ounce sections of crab in 30 pound boxes and that the dispute is over “unrealistic expectations” that the rebate would exceed CAD 1 (USD 0.71, EUR 0.61) per pound.
“These expectations were misleading and not based on fact,” ASP said. “If the FFAW had applied the market data to their own formula, they would have seen that the resulting figure was far from the CAD 1/lb that the union executive was promoting. If harvesters are dissatisfied with the final price, their concerns should be directed to their union executive, as the price is based on the FFAW’s own formula.”
ASP said Deloitte used the FFAW formula “exactly as written” and that its members have been responsive and transparent during the process.
“The independent verification process exists specifically to ensure accountability and confidence in the outcome, even when the result is difficult or unpopular,” ASP said.
The FFAW and the ASP have clashed for years over snow crab prices paid to harvesters in the province.
In 2023, disputes over a low price had fishermen refusing to fish for six weeks, a move that eventually led to arbitration finding the FFAW liable for costs related to late opening of the season.
The debate continued in 2024, leading to a week-long delay in the season as fishermen again protested pricing.
Now, the union is again demanding action from the provincial government and claims the ASP is manipulating markets to shortchange fishermen and deliberately sabotage the pricing formula.
“ASP companies are manipulating the market and skewing the true end-of-season price. The provincial government must intervene swiftly and with decisive action. Our fishery has become the mockery of Atlantic Canada, and the time for change is long overdue,” Street said.
FFAW Secretary-Treasurer Jamie Baker said over CAD 100 million (USD 72 million, EUR 62 million) was “stolen” from the coastal communities and local economy with the rebate decision.
“Nothing about this result is fair or acceptable, and it’s time for our new provincial government to take the swift action needed to address the root of the issue, which is corporate control and transparency in fish prices,” Baker said.
Street said the union is “allowing the provincial government” a short window to take action, or the union will be “boots on the ground as soon as this week.”
“The provincial government has let this behavior go on far too long, and in the past, our Union has shown compliance when it should have shown force,” Street said. “Mark my words, this is not a decision that will be accepted.”
