Delicate negotiations around the price of shrimp

In the context where the shrimp market has not been as good as what we have seen in lobster and crab, we fear difficult negotiations, comments the director of the Quebec Fishermen’s Office, Patrice Element

The challenge, continues Mr. Element, is indeed to agree on a price that will make it possible to have a season.

In the spring, discussions between the Office and theAQIPQuebec fishing industry association started without both parties knowing exactly what the total allowable catch (TAC) would be for the season. It was therefore only last Tuesday that the parties exchanged their first offers.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada waited almost four weeks after the official start of the fishery to announce that the TACtotal allowable catchwould be reduced this year by an average of 12% in the four areas of the Gulf.

Less shrimp means less income. This is a loss of about $5 million for fishermen at last year’s prices.

Except that this year, the price will have to be higher to compensate for the increase in fuel. Shrimp fishery operating costs have followed those of fuel costs. That’s double last yearnotes Mr. Element.

The situation is no rosier on the factory side.

The director general of the Association québécoise de l’industrie de la pêche (AQIP), Jean-Paul Gagné, admits that with fewer resources, the increase in processing costs will be more difficult to absorb. Our production costs, our fixed costs are higher. We’ll see what we can do. It’s the first year that it’s been difficult like this. It makes things difficult if the market price is not higher, there is nothing guaranteedhe said.

Last year, the season was also delayed due to weak world markets. This fall in world prices was already present before the pandemic, but the slow recovery in the restaurant industry is affecting the sector more than any other.

The balance between the profitability of the fishing companies, those of the factories and the capacity of the market to absorb this increase will not be easy to find what could threaten the season.

A declining fishery

The possibility of finding common ground in the short term does not eliminate concerns about the state of the resource in the medium and long term. The shrimp stock is among the lowest observed in the last 30 years.

For now, the decrease in TACTotal allowable catch is the main measure used by fisheries management to halt the decline of stocksexplains the regional director of fisheries management, Maryse Lemire. We must not forget, she said, that fishing has a real and significant impact on the abundance of the resource. It is necessary for us to act on an aspect for which we have control.

The resource is going so badly that in its last scientific opinion, the ministry saw fit not to consider the precautionary approach, applied by the DFODepartment of Fisheries and Oceans Canada to determine possible harvests while protecting the sustainability of the stock.

The population would have been overestimated, says Maryse Lemire, and this, in a context where environmental conditions, such as predation, temperature and oxygenation of the water, are unfavourable.

Well aware of the fragility of the shrimp biomass, fishermen nevertheless believe that their impact is less and less significant when compared to the predation of redfish, for example.

The shrimpers said they were disappointed and a little angry to see that Fisheries and Oceans does not follow its own quota assessment rules.

Patrice Element recalls that the fishermen complied with these rules, even if it was not always to the advantage of the fishermen. And all of a sudden we decide that these rules are no longer valid. We are a little disenchanted with this way of doing things, he said. It is certain that we will make sure that our dissatisfaction goes to the minister.

Coastal economy

The regional director of fisheries management, Maryse Lemire, points out that the fishing plan includes measures that can help shrimpers make their operations profitable, such as the transfer of quotas between fishermen.

Exceptionally, she says, a temporary transfer of 100% is authorized: This may allow some fishermen to have enough quota to cover their costs. Two permit holders can also go to sea together.

For Patrice Element, reducing the number of fishermen does nothing to help the economy of coastal communities. In addition, many new fishers must meet significant financial obligations, notes the director of the Office. There has been a renewal in recent years. It is an issue, he comments, to be able to repay either government or private loans.

Uncertainty also weighs on factory workers. Do they [les transformateurs] will open later, close earlier? Are these people going to put in enough hours? Will they work part time? asks Mr. Element.

To make up for the shortfall, shrimpers are demanding redfish quotas, even though the opening of commercial fishing is only expected in two or three years.

Fisheries and Oceans must determine this year what the authorized fishing volumes will be.

The shrimpers asked and still ask that the redfish advisory committee, a group that brings together the entire industry, fisheries managers and scientists, be convened before the decision is made. Redfish fishing will probably not replace shrimp fishing in its entirety, concludes Patrice Element, but it would help.