Fish harvesters from the province’s west coast and Northern Peninsula have staged protest at the offices of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) in Port au Choix, St. Anthony and Corner Brook. It is said that they protest the lack of government action being taken to help harvesters get through what has been a devastating 2009 fishing season thus far.
FFAW Secretary-Treasurer David Decker told that the provincial and federal governments absolutely have a role to play in helping our industry, which are so crucial to rural communities in Newfoundland and Labrador, get through these tough times. He admitted that this has been a disastrous year for harvesters and they desperately needed helps from provincial and federal governments.
The protests at the DFO offices are the latest in a series of actions taken by the province’s fish harvesters in recent months and weeks. Decker opined that the fishermen are facing extreme lobster prices, devastating shrimps industry forces jobs cut, low cod prices, scarcity of lumpfish etc. He told all these factors make the life of fishermen miserable.
Decker said that there are people haven’t had a single cent of income since April. He also told that the federal and provincial government has a moral responsibility to step in here and ensure better living for these affected people.
