Move now on legislation to process fish in B.C., UFAWU urges Task Force
• SHOREWORKERS AT IMPERIAL PLANT, 1993 ... more salmon going to U.S. by truck but imports will dry up once Ketchikan cannery is completed.
The UFAWU has urged the government task force studying fish processing in B.C. to recommend that Victoria move quickly to enact legislation that would ensure that fish caught in B.C. waters stays in the province for processing before it is exported.
In a brief to the Fish Processing Strategic Task Force, set up by Agriculture and Fisheries Minister David Zirnhelt earlier this year, the union emphasizes that corporate re-structuring and free trade, coupled with the collapse of fisheries on the east coast and the U.S. Northwest have "created a deepened sense of uncertainty" among fishing industry workers.
"Without fish, there can be no fishing industry, no processing plants to sustain communities and the economy..."
STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT SALMON MARKET TRENDS AND PRICES
will be the highlight of the BC Salmon Marketing Council Annual General Meetings
ON THE MAINLAND
FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 1T04PM DELTA TOWN & COUNTRY INN 6005 HIGHWAY 17, DELTA, BC (CALL 9464404 FOR DIRECTIONS)
ON THE ISLAND
SATURDAY, JUNE 4,1 TO 4 P.M. BEBAN PARK RECREATION CENTRE 2300 BOWEN ROAD, NANAIMO, B.C. (CALL 756-5200 FOR DIRECTIONS)
Terry Johnson of Bristol Bay will present "A Fisherman's Perspective on the Japanese Market."
Steve Shapiro, fisherman and editor of Pacific Fishing magazine will discuss "How Do You Know You're Getting a Fair Price for Your Salmon?"
Roy Phillips of Salasnek Fisheries, Detroit will offer first-hand advice on "Cracking the American Market — What Do Buyers Want?"
Timely, topical and to the point. You want to be there.
For further information,
call the BC Salmon Marketing Council
at 294-0868
it states. "We believe that securing access to the fish that is produced in our rivers and coastal waters is essential to ensuring a future for the fish-
'Securing access to the fish is essential to ensuring a future for the fishing industry in this province.''
ing industry in this province and essential to developing the value-added industries that we are seeking."
The 33-page brief outlines in detail the trend towards increased exports of unprocessed fish that has taken place since the GATT decision in 1988 struck down Canadian export regulations on herring and salmon and the federal government endorsed both the Canada-U.S. and North American Free Trade agreements.
It points to increased exports of salmon and herring as well as groundfish, nearly 30 per cent of which was landed in the U.S. in 1992.
Although the salmon and herring exports are, for the moment, offset by imports, the salmon now coming from Alaska for canning will be eliminated once the Ketchikan cannery, currently under construction by B.C. Packers and Canadian Fish, goes into production.
"It appears clear to us," the brief states, "that in all our key fisheries, salmon herring and groundfish, the free trade environment has been one of diminishing security of access by Canadians to their vital fisheries. Whether it is a Canadian company moving salmon processing operations to the U.S. or U.S. companies getting direct access to Canadian fish, we are losing control over a vital resource and losing the benefits that going with processing and developing that resource."
Several sections of the brief note that the B.C. fish processing industry is competitive internationally and has a highly productive and skilled workforce. In addition, new value-added seafood products are increasingly becoming the focus of the market, both at home and in export markets. Taking advantage of those markets means developing new value-added industry in B.C. and ensuring that there is a secure supply offish to main-
tain it, the brief emphasizes.
What Canadian fishing industry workers want, the brief points out, is essentially what is in place in the state of Alaska which maintains tight control over the export of unprocessed fish.
The brief points to state regulations which allow the Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development and the Department of Fish and Game to deny foreign companies the right to buy fish if sufficient capacity exists in the state to process it. State authorities even have power to withhold a permit if the foreign buyer might be selling into a market in competition with Alaskan processors.
Similar legislation exists in the state of Massachusetts, the brief notes.
The existence of those state regulations — which are based on the U.S. Magnuson Act — point to the need for "mirror" federal legislation in this country, the brief states in its recommendations. But there are also other measures that the province could consider to ensure that B.C. fish is processed in the province before export.
One option its suggests is a
We believe the government has a mandate to take legislative action now to ensure our
fisheries are protected.'
conservation tax which would be imposed on all fish harvested in B.C. waters. It would be accompanied by entirely separate measures — which could take the form of wage subsidies, power rebates and so on — to refund all or part of the tax, depending on the degree of processing done in B.C.
"Whatever form the legislation might take in this province," the brief emphasizes, "we believe the government has a mandate to take legislative action to ensure that our fisheries are protected and that B.C.-based industry has prior access to the fish so that maximum value can derived through processing in the province."
The Task Force is expected to file its report and recommendations with the minister by June 30.
8 • THE FISHERMAN / MAY 23,1994