Northern fishers are having some trust issues when it comes to new buyers for their commercial stock.
For a long time, Saskatchewan’s commercial fishers sold to only one company, but their world is widening since that ended in 2012.
It has bought land at Regina’s Global Transportation Hub with the goal of buying fish waste – guts and heads that would usually be discarded by fishers – and processing it into protein powder for human consumption. It also plans to buy cheaper fish and export to China.
But at the 2015 Fisheries Conference, hosted by Saskatchewan Commercial Fishers Limited (SCFL), the company’s vice president Steven Wu didn’t have a solid timeline on building the fish processing plant.
And it’s left fishers like Tom Sanderson leaning on their current ties.
“They’re just sitting there. They say they’re gonna do this, but they’re not there yet and I said to the people in the fishing background. I said don’t leave, don’t drop what you got,” said Sanderson, who is a La Ronge-area fisher and board member for SCFL.
Wu told the crowd of fishers – some from as far as Black Lake and Ile a-la-Crosse – that “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” and the company is not just processing fish, it’s looking to build an industry around what he called “value-added product.”
Wu did mention there’s a possibility of an interim plan to create a mobile plant for fish processing.
During the conference’s question and answer portion, fishers grilled Wu. One man, who identified himself as Dale Smith from Pinehouse, expressed concerns about the unfamiliar foreign company, saying fishers like himself are getting out of their comfort zone by moving onto a global market.
He urged Wu and his company, headed by Jack Sheng, to develop a relationship with northern fishers because the level of trust they need goes beyond business, it revolves around who they are.
Of fishing, Smith said, “it’s not just a business, it’s a lifestyle.”
SCFL’s former monopoly-holder, Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation (FFMC), also spoke at the conference. Sanderson said its control of the market ended because some wanted to have choices beyond FFMC, which is a Crown corporation.
FFMC’s Dave Bergunder told attendees that pricing changes they’ve made starting last year, and continuing this year, are “all about getting more money to fishermen.” The changes include market-driven pricing that can increase when things like Jewish holidays increase demand, rather than having seasonal prices only.
But the voices of fisheries from places like Deschambault Lake and Reindeer Lake questioned some of FFMC’s changes to fishery contracts.
Tom Bird, board member with SCFL, expressed skepticism about the contract option for fisheries to receive final payments only if they’ve signed on for five years – with no opt-out clause.
Ile a-la-Crosse Fish Company’s Nap Gardiner took the mic and called out both the SCFL and FFMC for poor communication. He said by debating legalities instead of hashing those issues out before the conference, neither group is keeping the interests of their fishers at heart.
Sanderson weighed in by calling for an end to the divides between fishers.
The passion behind the conference’s attendees comes from the fishing industry’s role as more than just a job, Sanderson said during a break.
Before roads were built to areas like La Ronge, there were only four industries: mining, guiding, exploration, and fishing. But only one stood the test of time.
“The fishery was always there. The people had to always fall back on the fishing and trapping. In a sense, when I look at it, it’s a tradition, what we’re born and raised to do and it’s also a livelihood,” Sanderson said.
He remains loyal to the longstanding relationship with FFMC, or as many call it, Freshwater.
“When you sell your fish to the Freshwater it’s a government check and it never will bounce. That’s the major thing that I looked at and I always tell the fishermen, we gotta watch who we sell our fish to,” he said.
Sanderson acknowledges things haven’t always gone smoothly between fishers and FFMC, but they’ve managed to continue providing service despite fluctuating fish prices over the years.
He said there has been a bit of a change in the business relationship with FFMC since the monopoly ended.
“I tell Freshwater, the main managers in Freshwater, I say just keep your cool and I say just keep buying fish. I say, you’re gonna have to play the game, if they’re gonna play the game with you,” he said.