Saskatchewan fishers making proposals in FFMC transformation

Plans to make changes with the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation (FFMC) in Winnipeg have been going on for several years.

The Saskatchewan Co-operative Fisheries Ltd (SCFL) have been are developing a proposal, which, they hope will give their organization and members more say in the process of transforming the FFMC, John Beatty, SCFL president, said in an interview with the Northern Advocate.

“We are fishers; we did not want to be left out in the dark without … Right now, we have no say. Zero. We’re at the mercy of whatever they pay and so on … we wanted to have some say how this thing proceeds.”

SCFL is working with another group of fishers, “at least four in Manitoba in Lake Manitoba,” he said.

Under the transformation, Beatty said, the fishers will become the owners, which would give the fishers more say in the processing of the fresh-water fishery.

The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans is heading up the process with FFMC and it works under the Fisheries Act, Beatty said.

A group of fishers from Saskatchewan and Manitoba travelled to Ottawa to meet with the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and other MPs and make them aware of the concerns, Beatty said, adding he was unable to participate in the trip, but “it was a good trip apparently.”

Right now, SCFL is waiting for funding from Fisheries and Oceans to produce a proposal.

“We are going to be doing a proposal, a detailed proposal of how the entity is going to look and how it’s going to be managed, how it’s going to run and the cost associated with that,” Beatty said.

They also plan to meet with their more than 30 fishers’ co-operative members groups to bring them up to speed on what is happening.

SCFL is waiting for the funding and the proposal, “so we can bring the fishers in. The local fishers has to be involved at some point. This so we can notify them and bring them up to speed on what’s going on,” Beaty said.

Once things come together, they will call a meeting in Prince Albert of the SCFL fishers.

SCFL will hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) after the winter fishery is complete.

Fisheries and Oceans are working with the fishers and FFMC to “transform” the organization.

“The transformation of the FFMC will consist of an open, transparent, and competitive process. This will be a two-step process,” quoted from Fisheries and Oceans web page.

The Northern Advocate will have more on the SCFL and the FFMC as it unfolds.

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