The Association of Seafood Producers has come out swinging, denying the FFAW’s contention that processors are manipulating the market to keep the price of snow crab caught locally down.
The ASP calls the FFAW’s argument accusing processors of market manipulation “an imaginary tale.”
In a release issued today, the association says the union’s contention that harvesters should receive the same price for NL snow crab as those in the Gulf was put to rest by John Sackton’s 2026 analytic report, commissioned by Premier Tony Wakeham.
According to ASP, the report’s analysis, based on global market data, determined that market prices received by NL seafood producers are the result of changing supply and demand in 2025.
The ASP says one of the biggest issues affecting NL snow crab market pricing is not being able to start the fishery in a timely manner, and that has had a “material negative long-term effect on pricing.” The association says Sackton’s report confirms that “late compressed supply from Newfoundland and Labrador is a significant negative market factor as the industry is not viewed as a dependable supplier.”
