Hearn decision puts FPI deal on 'life support,' Rideout says

Federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn has refused to transfer a troubled seafood company's fishing quotas to the Newfoundland and Labrador government.

Hearn said Thursday he would not agree to Newfoundland and Labrador's demand to take over the groundfish quotas from St. John's-based Fishery Products International, which has reached tentative agreements to sell its plants to two other companies.

"I have always stated that those who fish should hold the quota, not governments or anyone else," Hearn said

"In other words, those who run fishing enterprises, large or small, should not be subject to third parties telling them what to do."

FPI had agreed to sell most of its plants to St. John's-based firm Ocean Choice International, which had agreed to the province's demand for transfer of the quotas. In return, Ocean Choice would obtain FPI's offshore shrimp and scallop quotas.

For months, Fisheries Minister Tom Rideout has described that demand as a potential dealbreaker.

Rideout said he was shocked by Hearn's statement, which was released Thursday afternoon.

"While I can't say that the deal is dead, I can tell you that minister Hearn has placed this deal on life support, and it's life support that's barely breathing at the moment," Rideout said Thursday.

Hearn says that a condition outlined in his statement a guarantee that FPI's quotas be landed in Newfoundland and Labrador will ensure benefits stay within the province.

Hearn defends stance

The federal government constitutionally holds the rights to manage the country's fisheries, including issuing harvesting licences. (The provinces control the processing side of the industry.)

Hearn refused to be depicted as the obstacle in resolving the future of FPI, which operates in seven communities and employs about 2,000.

"If there is any kind of a dealbreaker here, it's the province demanding that they get the quota," Hearn said Thursday.

"That's certainly up to them. If that's the deal breaker, they can account for it. I am not holding up the process."

Rideout said that while Hearn can ensure that quotas are landed in Newfoundland and Labrador, a future minister might have a very different agenda.

"There [are] no guarantees that his successor will share the same view," Rideout said.

Earlier this week, FPI announced tentative deals with Ocean Choice and Nova Scotia processor High Liner Foods. Unionized workers at six plants and an additional facility were poised to strike Monday over wage concessions, but have delayed their pickets because of the possibility of a deal.

FPI has had several difficult years in a row, citing cheap foreign competition and currency exchange as among the factors that have put the company in jeopardy. Apart from a year-round secondary processing plant in Burin, many FPI workers have had limited amounts of work.

Unionized workers have blamed much of the company's internal strife on management.