N.L. fish processor hopeful new federal funding will strengthen business after ‘perfect storm’

Labrador Gem Seafoods may have dodged U.S. tariffs, but the company was dealt what its president is calling a “perfect storm” after China imposed its own 25 per cent tariff in March.

“The Chinese market was the biggest in the world, and now their pricing has made it certainly impossible to operate on a viable basis,” Danny Dumareseque told CBC News.

Located in Ramea, a small island off the south coast of Newfoundland, Dumareseque said Labrador Gem is one of the island’s only employers.

He said he has taken business risks to avoid layoffs. His plant traditionally harvests wild Canadian scallops. This year, he’s turned to harvesting jade whelk.

“We have traditionally received about 80 per cent of our employment from scallops, and unfortunately, this year, it looks like they’re only going to make up about 20 per cent of our production,” Dumareseque said.

“We had to turn to another species — the whelk, which is a sea snail — in order to be able to give my workforce the required employment that they deserve.”

‘Ramea worth the risk’

Dumareseque said he is familiar with the ups and downs of the fishing industry, and is hopeful the federal government’s newly announced $80-million tariff-relief fund for small and medium-sized businesses in Atlantic Canada will benefit his company.

“We certainly hope that we’ll come out of this stronger than ever,” he said. “To secure more supply chains, increase our cold storage capacity, and help with the working capital for marketing, all of these are essential.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney made that funding announcement in St. John’s on Monday. 

Carney said the distribution of money to Atlantic Canada is more than proportionate to the population and gross domestic product for the region, and there’s potential for seafood industry applications, such as innovative packaging techniques “tailored for high-demand European markets.”

Labrador Gem is heading to Spain next month for a frozen seafood show, but Dumareseque said finding new markets takes time, innovation, and staff — all things, he said, that federal funding could help with.

“Different parts of the world expect to have their seafood presented in different forms,” he said. “Our workforce and the beautiful community of Ramea is worth all of the risk that we take.”

Carney ‘admitting defeat’

But the Conservative MP for Long Range Mountains, Carol Anstey, isn’t sold on the idea.

In a statement, Anstey said Carney promised to negotiate a win on tariffs, but he made concessions to Americans without getting anything in return.

“He’s admitting defeat to our workers and industries,” she said.

Anstey said nation-building projects are good for Canada, specifically Newfoundland and Labrador, but Carney is building bureaucracy over industry.

“The Liberals gave us a new bureaucracy while retaining the same emissions cap and laws that block and delay projects,” she said.

“We are willing to work with any member of any party to get the best deal for Canada and to get building again so we can turn things around for our country.”

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