The Maritime Fishermen's Union - Local 6 is a branch organization composed primarily of inshore fishermen who have recognized the importance of having a unified voice in dealing with policy makers in the fishing industry.

While the MFU was formed in Bay Ste Anne, New Brunswick in 1977, Local 6 in Cape Breton Island was formed in 1979. From then until now our course has meant the weathering of many storms formed by disputes over fisheries management and who the main stakeholders will be in the fisheries of the future. To date, we have survived to see the relative calm, however short lived, on the other side. Most times we come through battered and a bit worse for wear but occasionally we make it through unscathed.

With the passage of time inshore fishermen are facing increased pressure to leave the fisheries, be it through new policy decisions, the burden of additional fees, support of devastating changes in Employment Insurance criteria and Canada Pension contributions or the refusal to listen and act on fishermen's recommendation's within the industry.

Unfortunately, some of these tactics are achieving what they were designed for, to diminish the numbers of independent inshore fishermen.

The Maritime Fishermen's Union will endeavor to continue fighting for the rights of not only our members, but for all fishermen, through our involvement as participants of various boards and committees within the industry and continuing to speak out against the injustices thrown our way. We shall also remain optimistic in our push to be recognized as key players and advisors in and for the fishing industry.

The following are a few of the issues that the MFU has been involved in over the past number of years. Many of these and other issues are still being fought in different ways throughout the Maritimes. Hopefully, the time will come when the present day decision makers will recognize that the future of the east coast fishery should be directed mainly by input from the people who have the most practical knowledge, the most concern and the most to lose - who better than the fishermen themselves!

WHAT HAS THE MFU DONE FOR FISHERMEN/WOMEN?

The MFU has always led the way for inshore fishermen and has been their most effective voice.

We are governed by an annual convention and an elected council of fish harvesters from both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and we represent 1,500 inshore fishing operations in both of these provinces. The MFU actively works on market and price issues and is committed to finding viable ways for young harvesters to enter the industry and for older harvesters to retire with dignity.

We have led the struggle with other fishermen’s organizations to maintain and strengthen the fleet separation and owner operator policies and we are working with an alliance of other fishing organizations to secure relief for the lobster industry in Atlantic Canada during these difficult times.

In Cape Breton, MFU Local 6 has representatives on the Lobster Advisory Council and a member on the Canadian Council of Professional Fish Harvesters . Our work here has necessitated us being actively engaged in finding a solution to the current lobster crisis.

Local 6 - is working on environmental issues such as the Eastern Scotian Shelf Integrated Management (ESSIM) and a Clean Oceans initiative. We are also monitoring Transport Canada changes that will affect all inshore fish harvesters.

Local 6 - has representation covering Lobster, Groundfish, Mackerel, Herring, Tuna, Swordfish, Scallops, Grey Seals, Developing species and Snow Crab. To this end we are paying close attention to certification and market changes affecting our fishery as well as monitoring issues affecting you such as changes to incorporation rules for fish harvesters.

ABORIGINAL FISHERIES

• The MFU stands out in it's effort over the years to peacefully resolve many of the challenges presented to it's members through the "Supreme Court decision" on Marshall.

CAPITAL GAINS EXEMPTION

• The MFU supports and is actively fighting for an increase in capital gains exemption from $100,000 to $500,000 as is enjoyed by primary producers and fishermen in other parts of Canada. This fight, should we win it, will directly impact new entrants into the fishery in a positive way and allow fishing families to transfer their fishing enterprises to their children or retire without the penalty of unreasonable tax burdens currently being levied by our government.

OWNER / OPERATOR

• The "Owner/Operator" issue is another long drawn out battle to try and maintain fishermen's independance and not allow our industry to be taken over and exclusivly owned by corporate and/or company interests through their buying up of licences and individual fishing enterprises.

BONAFIDE LICENSING POLICY

• The MFU supported a license buy-back in 1978. As the number of lobster licenses came under control we pushed for and won the now famous BONAFIDE LICENSING POLICY in the Gulf Region. It put the license on the person. It froze the number of Bonafide Licenses and it stopped DFO from taking back licenses if they were not fished in a particular year.

LOBSTER

• At the MFU Convention in 1988, the delegates unanimously called for Fisheries Minister Tom Siddon's resignation over his decision to issue four new offshore lobster licenses. Within a week the licenses were withdrawn and the MFU won a historic battle for all inshore fishermen/women.
  
• In August, 1989, the bottom fell out of the lobster market; exporters unloaded product on the US market at fire sale prices and the price to fishermen was slashed. The MFU acted swiftly, and with 250 fishermen in St. Louis, N.B., they confronted the federal and provincial officials and the media.

  In New Brunswick alone we were successful in having the Federal-Provincial Agreement put $6000,000 of new money for lobster promotion when the buyers were unwilling to invest. The promotion work met with immediate success in California and eventually led to the development of new markets and new products. The MFU pressure did not let up. We rallied at Inkerman, N.B. in front of Mulroney and he agreed to take action. We met with Fisheries Minister Valcourt and Losier and we challenged the companies into action. By 1992, canner prices were over $3.00/lb.

• The MFU said no to the Fisheries Council of Canada's attempt to have the minimum size of market lobsters match the new U.S. minimum size. This not only saved money for our fishermen/women, it led to new market opportunities in Europe and Asia.

• We have always said NO to poaching and to other illegal practices. Constant lobbying on these has seen the advent of stiffer fines and sanctions to protect the resource.

OUR LOBSTER FUTURE:

Fishermen/women own the largest portion of the capital invested in the lobster industry. The fishermen's organizations must develop a professional knowledge of the international market place and we need to make sure markets for lobster world-wide continue to expand. This is our best guarantee for long term price strength in lobsters. At the wharf level, we must make sure there is buyer competition.

HERRING

The Herring seiners decimated the gulf herring stocks in the 1970s. It all came to a head on the Caraquet wharf in 1979. MFU fishermen protested any further landings by the seiners and were gassed by the RCMP. But the message was finally getting home that the inshore fishermen were organized and the DFO was forced to deal with us. By 1981 we had obtained agreements that 80% of the Southern Gulf herring quotas would belong to the inshore. This was the reverse of the 1970's were 80% was fished by the large seiners.

When the inshore fishermen have control of the resource, it is strong. Look at the herring and the lobster. The cod got away from the inshore and now look at the disaster. Our next big challenge is the mackerel. US offshore joint ventures were fishing our mackerel in the winter and now the Canadian offshore interests want the same.

The MFU has called for the removal of mackerel from the list of underutilized species. We are opposed to its development in this sense and are pushing for protection of our inshore access to mackerel in the same way that Gulf herring stocks were reserved 80% for the inshore.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

The MFU has forcefully defended U.I. for fishermen/women and has won the following improvements to it as well:

• We pushed to have the benefit period moved from December 1st to November 1st.
• We helped ensure that fishermen/women could use the best ten weeks in determining the amount of benefits.
• The MFU appeared before the high profile Kirby Task Force in 1982 in defense of improved U.I. for fishermen/women.
• We went before the Forget Commission in 1985 and when it appeared that the Commission was going against U.I. for fishermen/women, we joined forces with West Coast and Newfoundland fishermen/women on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. When the Commission finally made its report, the U.I. program for fishermen was left untouched.
• In 1989, we appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Bill C21 to protest U.I. cutbacks.
• At the MFU Convention in February, 1994, we unanimously passed a resolution endorsing the Cashin Report on Incomes and Adjustments in the Atlantic Fishery because it recommended the continuance of the U.I. program with greater flexibility, as well as suggesting other insurance programs set aside earnings in good years that can be drawn on in poor years.
• In March, 1994, Herb Nash, president of Local 6 and vice-president for Nova Scotia, gave a video-presentation to the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development. To quote from the presentation, Herb said, "this is not the time to be increasing the number of weeks needed to qualify for unemployment... You cannot drive people into welfare and then call it social reform..."
• MFU Locals in Northeast New Brunswick and Cape Breton participated in large rallies to protest changes to U.I. brought down in the federal budget by Paul Martin.

OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION

Yet another fight to maintain the integrity and sustainability of our fishing industry against the pressure of oil and gas exploration under the guise of bountiful economic opportunity. MFU Local 6 has been in the forefront of this issue, especially where it concerns inshore/nearshore exploratory permits. We feel that the public review of exploratory permits around Cape Breton that took place this past January / 2002 would not have been achieved if not for Local 6 support and pressure alongside other fishing, environmental and native groups fighting against the issuance of these exploratory permits by the Nova Scotia government. We have started an initiative to publically show the true value of our fishing industry versus the limited profit returns of oil and gas to our province.

In late 2003 we lost our fight against Corridor Resources carrying out their seismic work off Inverness County, Cape Breton.

This continues to be a very frustrating battle. We have put a lot of time, energy, and money, into fighting a process of no-accountability, on the part of the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB), and some politicians who had their mind made up against us, and refused to listen to our side.

In the end we have had support from DFO Science, Liberal leader Danny Graham, the NS New Democratic Party, Premier Pat Binns of PEI, and NB Premier Bernard Lord, and the government of Quebec who stopped Corridor and Hydro-Quebec from doing seismic testing in other parts of the Gulf. Add to these, many environmental groups, independent scientists, and the Priests of Inverness County.

Hunt Oil did not try to do anything in Sydney Bight in the fall of 2003 because they lost their partner. They may try late in 2004. Their programme is many times bigger and more intense than what Corridor did off Inverness County. We have to stop them. We will have lots of scientific and community support, but we need to make lots of noise, and lobby lots of politicians. We believe that if we kick and scream enough we can stop this and thereby preserve our industry for future generations.

4VN MANAGEMENT BOARD

In light of these aforementioned issues, MFU Local 6 initiated the 4vn Management Board. This board was comprised of the four major fishermen's organizations in 4VN. By doing this we thought to be more able to stay in touch with all fishermen in the 4vn area and work more closely together with the other organizations to fight with a united voice the pressing issues that affect us all so dramatically.

Unfortunately, this initiative has not proven to be as effective as we had hoped. A number of factors, including personal agendas and the virtual collapse of the East Cape Breton Fishermen's Association, have led to this boards near demise.

We can only hope that this situation can resolve itself and put the Board back into being a workable entity otherwise it is doomed for continued failure.

Not all initiatives pan out as hoped or envisioned but this will not prevent MFU Local-6 from trying to better our fishing environment for all fishermen.

HEALTH PLAN

As of February 1, 2004, those members who have signed and paid will have a health plan with Blue Cross. This has been a major issue for many of our members and we are glad to be able to deliver on it.

IN CONCLUSION

The MFU always fought to keep the offshore out of Sydney Bight but unfortunately our cries fell on deaf ears and so we have the disaster in the groundfishery now. The offshore is shut down now and we will do everything in our power to help inshore groundfishermen hold on and take over when the cod comes back.

Education and knowledge play an important role in our industry; to fishermen, scientists, politicians and the public at large. We are constantly doing our utmost to ensure that this takes place in all these areas.

We will continue to work hard on all the issues and with the help of our membership and a united front we hope to achieve the results that will best serve the sustainability of the fishery, it's fishermen and coastal communities in and around Cape Breton Island.

The following is a list of contacts for MFU Local 6

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