Snow crab harvesters in Canada’s Newfoundland & Labrador say their patience with the Fish, Food & Allied Workers union has run thin, and made their voices heard at a protest outside its St. John’s office Thursday.
Around 100 protesters stood in the office’s parking lot to seek response from leadership, tired of a lack of updates from the union.
“We got no leadership, really. We don’t know what’s going on,” Tors Cove fisherman Keith Colbert told CBC News.
“We get a scattered email after we get the news from somewhere else. So, you know, why aren’t we kept in the flow of things? … Everyone is over frustrated.”
Alex Young, a snow crab harvester from St. Bride’s, said his crew is tired of waiting on the dock to fish. He has a 27,000-kilogram quota for the season, is running out of time to catch it, and believes negotiations between the union and the Association of Seafood Producers are at an impasse.
Tensions between harvesters have only increased in the past week, as some have decided to break rank by untying their boats to fish for crab.