Fishing Companies Tighten Monopoly Grip on Industry
IfieTi/herm&n
Vol XXXII, No. 2
Vancouver B.C.,
January 17, 1969
• This model of * 97 foot combination Mhmg vessel constructed of fibrtglass reinforced plastic wm thown at last year*! Montreal Conference on Fishing Vessel Construction Materials and at the C—mm ml Fish Exposition in Boston Design is part of a federal fisheries department Industrial Development Service project aimed at making available to the industry a versatile all round vessel ■Ml 1 hajhtweigM. maintenance free hull Vessel would be designed primarily to exploit herring llKfcS "•COoomically. on a year round basis." department says.
Crewmen s Strike Ties Up Icelandic Fishing Fleet
ABC Pullout Followed By Todd Liquidation
J. H. Todd and Sons Ltd. announced on January 14 that it will cease to exist as a separate entity under its own name. The company's various operations on this coast will be handled by B.C. Packers Ltd. and Canadian Fishing Company Ltd. which have owned Todd's since 1954.
The latest development in the process of increased monopoly control in the industry came in the wake of ABC Packing Company's announcement last
A ne*s agency re| Reykjavik on January lands Ashing induMr; brought to • halt b> 2*000 fishing vessel cr
Major issue in the
wmen recent devaluations of
dispute U i landic krona
• After one drift on the main arm of the Fraser River some time during ihe summer this gillnet was plugged with debris comprised of bark from log booms and assorted items of sewage and garbage. Mat is a 53 gauge, fcO mesh, 8V» inch nylon. Fraser River gillnetters •ft constantly plagued by logging debris and wastes in the river which have led to .Is being described as a filthy, heavily polluted Waterway
A drastic 35 percent devaluation of the krona was announced by the country's central bank last November 11 In December. 1967. the krona had been devalued by 25 percent Before the latest devaluation the krona was worth approximately 18 cents.
A 45 percent decrease in exports caused by declining world prices for some fishery products was blamed for the devaluation last year.
A marked trend toward over-dependence of the Icelandic industry' on herring reduction in the past several years has been widely criticized Soft markets for fish-meal and oil were accompanied by sharply reduced catches by Icelandic fishermen in 1967 and 1968._
Patterson Elected
UFAWU Vancouver waterfront organizer Wayne Patterson was elected at this week's meeting of Vancouver halibut fishermen as port delegate to the International Pacific Halibut Commission's annual meeting which opens at University of Washington in Seattle on January 28.
Others elected to attend the Commission meeting and the halibut layup conference scheduled for January 27 at Deep Sea Fishermen's Union of the Pacific hall In Seattle were II. Steve Stavenes, Heg Payne, Hugh MacLcan, George JelTery and Everett Walker.
This week's meeting of UFAWU longliners reiterated strong opposition to any proposal that would allow retention of halibut taken in net fisheries. A proposal along these lines, believed to have come from a number of trawl vessel owners, has been submitted to the Commission and Is expected to be one topic for discussion at lis annual meeting.
week that it was pulling out of the Pacific coast salmon industry after 77 years and would concentrate all its efforts in the East coast herring fishery.
Todd's general manager R L. Payne has been appointed vice-president of New England Fishing Company which controls Canadian Fishing Company Ltd. He has also been appointed a director of Canfisco.
Operations conducted by J. H. Todd and Company under its own name since the 1954 takeover include a cannery at Klemtu and fish camps on the Skeena River. Rivers Inlet, Fraser River and at Sooke.
J. H. Todd was the oldest salmon canning firm in the province, having been founded with head offices at Victoria in 1881.
Payne gave as reasons for the latest move "increasing cost pressures "whichi have made it uneconomic to keep operating as a separate unit "
He said the shareholders decided to consolidate the operation "to provide more efficient service to the fishing fleet The fishermen will be better served this way." he contended, "because the companies will find it easier and more efficient to provide better boat and m-t repair and fish handling facilities on a consolidate basis"
PARALLEL ACTION
From the Union's standpoint, however. Ihe recent announcements by ABC Packing Company and J II Todd and Sons are seen as a counterpart to federal fisheries minister Jack Davis' licensing scheme for the salmon fishery.
The UFAWU has stressed consistently that the licensing scheme in its present form inevitablv will encourage and promote intensified vertical integration in the industry.
Events of the last two weeks confirm that position and have seen monopoly control strengthened significantly while, at the same time, the two biggest monopolies now feel free to divest themselves of the trappings of independent operation as maintained by the name of J. H. Todd.
FISHERMEN SQUEEZED
With the increased monopoly control, independent fishermen inevitably will have fewer outlets for their catches while shorework-ers at the former ABC Packing Company Phoenix cannery at Steveston and the J. H. Todd cannery at Klemtu are faced with much diminished prospects for employment this coming season.
Also in the balance is the future of former ABC seine fishermen and tendermen and the company's former rental boat gillnet fishermen in some areas. Canadian Fishing Company earlier was reported to have taken over ABC's northern operations and was said to be negotiating for the company's Fraser River gillnet fleet.
Unconfirmed reports this week indicated that Nelson Bros. Fisheries may take over ABC's former Johnstone Strait fleet.
Federation Holds Stand On Bill 33
The B.C. Federation of Labor this week said it will take no action on a proposal by IWA regional president Jack Moore that the Federation backtrack on its policy of non-cooperation with the Social Credit mediation commission set up under Bill 33.
The Federation convention last November unanimously approved a resolution reiterating opposition to the legislation and called on all unions in the province to "refuse to participate in proceedings under the Act beyond the voluntary mediation stage, as long as compulsory arbitration and other objectionable features remain in the legislation."
Moore's proposal called foi dropping of this approach. Instead, he said, unions should go through all processes of mediation, including appearing before the commission, "on the understanding that all proposed settlements are taken to a secret ballot vote of the membership, whether or not the government has decided lit* will impose compulsion on the trade union." POLICY ENDORSED
Commenting on Moore's proposal, the Federation said its existing policy had won endorsa-tion of 500 delegates at the convention. 87 of whom were from the IWA. "The main discussion at the convention was that the policy did not go far enough and there was no suggestion that it was too militant," the Federation pointed out, adding:
"Moore's actions and public statements are, first and foremost, a matter to be dealt with by the IWA. Therefore, the Federation officers will have no further comment at this time."
Moore was first vice-president of the Federation until last November's convention when he declined nomination for another term of office. The Federation's policy on Bill 33. however, was formulated by the executive of which the IWA president was a member.
The Federation has gone further than to call solely for a refusal by unions to appear before the mediation commission and has urged its affiliates not to cooperate in any way whatsoever with the machinery set up undei Bill 33.
In an emergency resolution submitted to last-year's convention the Federation executive said the commission is "an instrument of compulsory arbitration and any cooperation by affiliated unions can only be detrimental to the trade union movement."
ANNUAL MEETING
PILCHARD AND HERRING WELFARE FUND
Thursday, January 30 — 7:30 p.m. I ISHKRMEN'S HALL
138 East Cordova Street
ANNUAL MEETING
UNITED FISHERMEN'S WELFARE FUND Friday, January 31 — 10 a.m. FISHERMEN'S ll Ml.
138 East Cordova Street