The provincial government announced Oct. 17 that it has hired Signature Mediation as its fisheries envoy to help develop a way for Manitoba commercial fishers to withdraw from the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation (FFMC) and sell their catch independently.
The envoy will be responsible for consulting with fishing communities, indigenous groups and businesses to identify issues and opportunities as well as identifying new regulations, policies and systems that will be needed to create a new marketing avenue. The envoy will also help establish processes for fisheries management, such as catch and sales reporting requirements, and make contact with private-sector organizations that want to develop fish-processing facilities and marketing co-operatives.
“We made a commitment to allow fishers to market their own catch and get out from under the monopoly of the FFMC, but we need a specialized team to help with the transition,” said Sustainable Development Minister Cathy Cox said in an Oct. 17 news release. “Signature Mediation is a Manitoba company with years of experience helping people with different ideas reach mutually beneficial conclusions and we look forward to building a new era for Manitoba fishers. This candidate appealed specifically to the position of fisheries envoy because of its experience working with Manitoba Pork Marketing Co-op, playing an integral role in helping the hog industry in Manitoba transition into a flexible marketing system.”
The government announced in August that it would be withdrawing from its participation agreement under the Freshwater Fish Marketing Act, though fishers will still have the option of selling their fish via the FFMC, a federal Crown corporation, if they choose to.
Commercial fisheries, mainly on Lake Winnipeg, Lake Winnipegosis and Lake Manitoba, as well as some smaller operations, generate about $21 million of income for Manitoba fishers annually through the sale of walleye, goldeye, northern pike, sauger, lake whitefish and lake trout to buyers in the United States, Europe, Israel and China. The largest single commercial fishing operation in the province is the Norway House Fisherman’s Co-op, which includes nearly 50 full-time fishers and catches about one million kilograms of fish per year.
