According to the press communiqué Lump-roe Harvesters will be paid an extra $2.658 per pound for product, on top of the amount already received at the wharf, they sold as part of this year’s fishery. The rebate of $2.658 will be added to that minimum price, putting the total price for harvesters at just over $4.15 per pound.
The authority has sued the rebate based on a pricing market formula that has been negotiated in the lump-roe fishery. The formula has been in place for the past number of years and results in a final price that is determined by actual sale in the marketplace.
FFAW/CAW President Earle McCurdy said that the Union feels this approach could work effectively in the crab fishery as well. The Union wrote ASP in late July suggesting early bargaining for 2011 crab prices with a view to implementing a system similar to the lump roe pricing system, but ASP has not responded.
The price paid to harvesters after the rebate this year represents three straight years in which the overall price for lump-roe in this province has seen an increase. In 2007 harvesters were paid a minimum price of $1.20 and the rebate at season’s end was .83 cents ($2.03 total). In 2008 they received $1.50 and a subsequent rebate of $2.25 ($3.75 total). Harvesters are encouraged to contact their buyer for payment immediately and to request an amended Record of Employment since the rebate may impact their EI benefits.
