FFMC Officials Agree To Meet With Fishers

FFMC Officials Agree To Meet With Fishers

Tuesday, June 28, 2005 at 15:05

Saskatchewan’s Northern Affairs minister believes miscommunication is at the heart of a dispute between commercial fishers and the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation.

Buckley Belanger toured the FFMC’s headquarters in Winnipeg last week, and used the occasion to talk about the long-awaited fish processing plant in Prince Albert.

That project has been grounded until the fishers and FFMC can agree on a business plan for the new facility.

The fishers want assurances that the corporation will market the fish the new plant processes.

FFMC officials are not prepared to offer that guarantee — saying they won’t pay for fish they can’t market.

Belanger says he won’t act as a referee in the dispute, but he says he’s managed to convince corporation officials to meet face-to-face with fishers at a location in Saskatchewan that has yet to be determined.

Fishers hope the plant in Prince Albert will increase the grade of their fish and bring them higher profits.