Fishery workers and interested members of the public were at a public meeting this morning to talk about a federal government policy review on the fishery.
About 200 people, mostly union members, packed into a room at the Holiday Inn in St. John's.
The FFAW is saying that the DFO policy review is happening behind closed doors, and threatens the current structure of the commercial fishery.
Following the meeting, FFAW supporters will be heading up to the DFO building in White Hills for a brief rally.
Meantime, a spokesperson for federal Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield said Canada has the longest coastline and arguably the best seafood products in the world, but Canadian fishermen remain among the lowest earners in Canada.
“Canada is not where it should be as a world player in the industry and we are no longer seeing the abundance of fish that our country enjoyed in the past,” the spokesperson said. “In the absence of being able to create more fish in the sea, we must find ways to make the fishery more valuable, profitable and respectful of the resource for future generations.
“By engaging with all stakeholders, we want to explore how we can better manage Canada’s fishery for the long-term use of the resource and how Canadian fishermen can earn more from it.”
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