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— Official Organ — Pacific Coast Fishermen's Union Salmon Purse Seiners' Union, Local 141
The Only Fishermen's Trade Union Paper in British Columbia
VOL. H, No. 10.
VANCOUVER, B.C., OCTOBER 12, 1938
(43)
©
PRICE: Stents
SEINE PACT BRINGS GAINS
Guaranteed Minimum Prevents Price Cuts
MEMBERS PROTEST LOW FISH PRICES IN DISTRICT ONE
Absence of Unity Was Main Reason For Chaotic Situation
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SUING got under way in District 1 last Monday after a closed period extending from September 10 but the majority of gillnefcters, accepting the lead of the Pacific Coast Fishermen's Union, were fishing at present prices only under protest and were prepared to take immediate action in the event of any further move to reduce rates.
This situation came as a result of the agreement on prices negotiated by the B.C.F.P.A. and the Japanese organization on the eve of reopening the Fraser River and Gulf, an agreement concluded without consultation with the P.C.F.U. and which came too late to allow the union to take any action on behalf of its membership.
KEEN RESENTMENT
Resentment at the price agreement is particularly keen due to the fact that the P.C.F.U. has a majority of members on the Fraser River and in the Gulf area. After having successfully forced closure of District 1 and averted drastic reductions in sockeye prices, the union had held several well attended mass meetings at various points, at which a majority sentiment for a stand on a 35-cent price was expressed.
These meetings culminated in an offer from the P.C.F.U. for a joint stand on prices between the three unions. This offer was put forward on Tuesday, September 27, but was not taken up by the B.C.F.P.A. or the Amalgamated Fishermen's Ass'n.
"Reason for these low prices can -be traced to the same cause for the low prices in the past, namely lack of united action," commented John Gavin, P.C.F.U. (Continued on Page Six)
Catch Drops Off In Fraser, Gulf
PILCHARD PRODUCTION HEADS FOR RECORD
One of the heaviest pilchard catches on record is being reported by seiners on the West Coast, with production to date close to 45,000 tons.
A correspondent for The Fisherman reports that up to the first week of October, high boat for the B.C. Packers had delivered some 2,700 tons, with plenty of fish still coming in.
Despite a cut in price of 25 cents a ton over last year, production levels have been high enough to assure at least a fairly good winter stake, pilchard seiners state. Prices this year are $2.75 a ton, |
Independent Buyers Boost Sockeye Price
After a week's fishing in District 1 following reopening of the area last Monday, gillnetters are reporting catches much lower than those prevailing during the first two or three days.
A section of the fleet found good fishing in Howe Sound for the first two or three days, Orgahizer Gus Cogswell reported after a trip to the grounds, but catches have dropped considerably in recent days. High boats last week brought in as high as 1500 pounds of cohoe. The majority of boats in the Sound left for the Fraser River ~and northern inlets on Thursday and Friday.
On the Fraser River catches were heavy also for the first part of last week but dropped off around the weeK end. • Prices ranged from the C.M.A. rate of 15 cents per fish for sockeye, 5% cents per pound for cohoe and 10 cents for chums to "pirate" buyers offers of 30 cents for sockeye and 7 cents a ppund for cohoe.
Apparently the C.M.A.'s wail about the "unfairness" of fishermen in selling fish to the highest bidder is having little effect.
During the past week Organizer Gus Cogswell has contacted a number of new locals established on the River and reports brisk organizational activity, brought about partly by general dissatisfaction on the price agreement for District 1 fish.
Winning of union agreements between organized seiners and the Salmon Canners Operating Committee enforcing higher prices and union recognition was bringing results in dollars ^.nd cents this week as reports reached Vancouver of big catches of chums off the East Coast of Vancouver Island, centering at Deepwater Bay and other points on Johnstone Straits.
The victory on prices, result of the 16-day strike which tied up the entire industry, took on added significance through clauses in the union contract guaranteeing minimum prices of 10 cents for chums and 5 cents a pound for cohoes. As a result the unusually heavy run in Johnstone Straits was not forcing price levels downward* as had happened in previous years. In addition to the big run of chums, reports from the West Coast indicated continued good catches of cohoe.
Meantime B.C.'s labor movement from Vancouver to Prince Rupert was still discussing proudly the results of the coastwise tie-up of seiners, gillnetters and trailers which brought operators' signatures to the first union agreement in the purse seine division of the industry and the only contract to be signed with the Canners' Operating Committee, representing all major canning companies.
<§> Break in the deadlock on price
SCHOONER 'BLUENOSE' LOSES FIRST RACE
LUNENBURG, N.S.—The big salt banker "Bluenose," pride of the Atlantic fishing fleet and Canadian defender of the International Fishermen's Trophy, was one down on its championship series with the "Gertrude L. Thebaud" after losing the first race Sunday.
Captain Ben Pine of the Gloucester challenger led his famous rival, Captain Angus Walters, across the finish line by 2 minutes, 56 seconds in the initial contest after the fore topmast of the "Blue-nose" split under heavy pressure of sail.
FRASER RIVER SEES NEW "GOLD RUSH
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"Sun" Editors Get Their Figures Slightly Twisted
<>?TH|HERE'S gold in them thar drifts," I and Mr. John Citizen of Vancouver can hardly be restrained from throwing up his job and and joining the latest "gold rush" to the Fraser River !
The reason—a report last week in the Vancouver Sun headed "Gillnetters Strike It Rich," a fanciful yam creating the impression that gillnetters had abandoned their usual humdrum occupation of catching fish, grabbed for the nearest dishpan and dove overboard to pan gold on the drifts of the mighty Fraser.
Stated the Sun: "Fishermen earned $75 on the average for their catch between noon Monday and 6 p.m. Tuesday. . . . Canners were paying fishermen 55 cents per fish for sockeye . . " All of which must have made the aver-
age reader turn envious eyes in the direction of the new Eldorado and wish his old man had bought Mm a gillnet boat instead of a scooter when he was a kid.
Had the Sun writer consulted fishermen on the facts, he would have had to inform the world that sockeye were realizing only 15 cents apiece. But that would have broken the newspaper's lengthy record of hardly ever telling the truth, and besides, why tell the truth when a misstatement looks so much more exciting.
Meantime fishermen read the news of their stupendous fortune, looked more closely again at their cannery statements, and finally concluded sadly that the editors of the Sun must have been taught a higher type of arithmetic !
demands, presented on September 18 by the seiners' negotiating committee at Alert Bay, came on Thursday, September 29, when the operators' committee agreed to resume discussions on prices for Johnstone Straits canning chums.
Canners were influenced in their decision to meet with strikers by a move to pull out all seiners on the West Coast. An organizing committee of three comprising Elgin "Scotty" Neish, S.P.S.U. secretary, George Brajcich, skipper of the Jessie Island, and Art Halverson, representing the gillnetters, had left Vancouver on the Wednesday night for Port Renfrew and by Friday morning had succeeded in arranging a strike vote which tied up the majority' of seiners and a number of gillnetters operating in the area south of Barkley Sound.
Faced with the prospect of a strike which threatened to stop all fishing operations for the balance of the season, the Salmon Canners' Operating Commit-(Continued on Page Six)
DATE OF PUBLICATION CHANGED BY HOLIDAY
Readers will notice that for the second time in recent weeks The Fisherman is appearing a day late.
In both cases the editorial staff has an alibi. The last issue was delayed in order to get pictures and last minute news of the seiners strike, as well as allow time to prepare the extra two pages.
Lateness of the present issue can be laid to the fact that Vancouver celebrated Thanksgiving on Monday, the day we regularly go to press, and since the print shop was closed, we were forced to come out a day late.
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