FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2026, St. John’s, NL
Yesterday, the arbitrator upheld Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) position on the 2025 crab settlement price, finding against the FFAW and its claim that ASP withheld sales information and manipulated harvesters fair share of profits and shortchanged settlement prices paid.
Crab processors in this province have complied with 2025 Standing Fish Price Setting Panel’s decision and the snow crab settlement price using FFAW’s pricing formula for the minimum price of $5.25/lb., as determined by Deloitte’s independent review of 5-8oz sales of 30lb. boxes sold during the 2025 fishery.
The arbitrator denied FFAW’s grievance, finding against their claims that sales of all product forms should be included in the settlement calculation. At no point during the 2025 price negotiations or the Panel decision was the inclusion of all product forms discussed or agreed to.
The FFAW have alleged that ASP delayed the process, that was not the case. Crab processors supplied their sales information to Deloitte based on the FFAW agreed upon cut-off date of October 31, 2025, and were responsive to the auditing firm during the review process.
The FFAW’s argument that harvesters should receive the same price for Newfoundland and Labrador snow crab as Gulf harvesters has also been disputed by the recently released John Sackton 2026 analytic report on Gulf versus Newfoundland and Labrador Snow Crab Price Differential Report as commissioned by Premier Wakeham. Harvesters should request a copy of this report from the FFAW executive.
At a time of heightened political uncertainty and global trade volatility, which will continue in the 2026 season, particularly in the United States, which is Newfoundland and Labrador’s most valuable and strategically important market for snow crab, industry must present stability and confidence to buyers and customers.
Public hostility, continued annual disputes over price, and delaying the opening of the fishery undermines trust, weakens market confidence, and places downward pressure on prices at a time when market risks are high.
“The Association remains committed to harvesters, workers, processors, and coastal communities, and will work in a positive, collaborative manner with harvesters to find pricing solutions that will support the long-term stability of Newfoundland and Labrador’s snow crab industry.” Lorelei Roberts, Executive Director
-30-
Media Contact:
Association of Seafood Producers
709-726-3730
info@seafoodproducers.org
Backgrounder
As a result of a disagreement between ASP and FFAW regarding which product forms were to be included in the settlement pricing calculation, the parties agreed to resolve the matter through the established grievance and arbitration process set out in the Master Collective Agreement. This agreement was reached on November 20, 2025, in the presence of the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture and the Minister of Labour to proceed on an expedited basis.
Crab negotiations rely on the use of Urner Barry (UB) 5-8oz sections, as a proxy or market index, and the FFAW referenced UB as the pricing it should be receiving a share of. Quotations from UB are based on wholesale 30lb box product forms, not consumer packs or, as FFAW has contested, all product forms.
In determining the scope of services for Deloitte for the independent review of sales to determine the settlement rebate, the FFAW and ASP had lengthy discussions pertaining to the product forms of 5-8oz sections that would be included in the settlement process.
Deloitte performed their work using the FFAW’s formula as it was written, along with many factors agreed upon by the parties in the settlement process. With the weighted average market price of $10.93/lb. CAD, harvesters receive 48% of that price, 74% when accounting for yield.
Harvesters are paid on the full weight of the whole crab at the time it is landed. Processors only sell the edible sections (clusters), not the whole crab. Accounting for this difference (“yield”) ensures harvesters receive a fair share of the real market price.
In the 2024 Standing Fish Price-Setting Panel decision, the Panel clearly stated in response to the FFAW’s panel submission to include a share of all product forms that “The price paid to harvesters has always been the raw material price, not the post-processing export price of all crab products.” Other product forms and consumer packs are not economically equivalent to 30lb bulk packs. Preparing crab in other product forms other than 30lb packs is considered as post-processing retail crab which involves materially higher production costs than bulk formats, including more processor capital investment in retail packing lines, higher packaging and trucking costs, significantly greater labour requirements for processing per unit, increased storage, financing and insurance costs.
