LFUSCL confident of direction in an uncertain future

Industry is impacted on all levels in uncertain global markets.

But for the Labrador Fishermen's Union Shrimp Company Limited, both rough waters and calm seas should be sailed with caution, general manager Gilbert Linstead said in an interview during the LFUSCL biennial convention in L'Anse au Clair, Nov. 17-19.

"I think it's fair to say that we've had a good year; but I have to caution that. There are a lot of products still in the marketplace, not sold, and there are some problems with products slowing down, as far as sales are concerned," Mr. Linstead said.

The LFUSCL's fiscal year doesn't end until Dec. 31, so it is difficult to know the immediate impacts the financial crisis may have on the company, he added.

The issue of trouble in the seafood market was raised by John Sackton, a seafood expert and owner of www.seafood.com, who was a guest speaker during the Wednesday afternoon portion of the convention.

Though, Mr. Sackton isn't the first to be weary of an uncertain fiscal future.

Mr. Linstead agreed with a lot of Mr. Sackton's speech, and had similar projections for the upcoming year.

"Things have changed in the last few weeks that are unbelievable," Mr. Linstead said. "Basically the market has stopped and we don't know how long it's going to last.

"It's not something that's imagined. It's real, everything has slowed down to a crawl."

The LFUSCL won't feel an immediate crunch because a lot of the company's products aren't sold until the following year. The product - shrimp, crab, cod, scallops, turbot, or Greenland halibut, capelin and whelk - is sold through a broker, put in cold storage in Europe and distributed to retailers, Mr. Linstead explained, adding that the product goes to the marketplace and is sold the following year.

"It's hard to say right now if there's a downturn in the shrimp industry," he said. "There are people putting the skids on buying shrimp, so there's a potential problem out there, although it's not a problem yet.

"Hopefully it'll start to go up instead of continuing to go down. You never know, it's a gamble right now."

The tone of the convention, however, was anything but weary of the future.

Frank Flynn was re-elected president of the LFUSCL Thursday by the board of directors.

"(The convention) gives people a chance to ask questions and learn about the company, and how the company is doing, and to give them a better understanding why they're going to get a certain price for their fish and why you do the things you do."

Newly-appointed Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Tom Hedderson, Minister of Labrador Affairs John Hickey and Opposition leader Yvonne Jones were in attendance, as were experts of various aspects of the fishing industry.

"We had good reports and we had a good fishing season," Mr. Linstead said. "Our fisherman sold their products well this year, and everybody is fairly pleased with what went on. Overall it was a positive convention, everybody enjoyed it, we know where we're going to go going forward and we're happy with what we've seen."

The convention is a time to update everything within the LFUSCL, from boats to management personnel, as well as to look at the company's losses and gains, he explained.

"We've turned a corner, as far as having a decent year, and that's going to happen anyway," he said, "but it would be a lot better if we could sell all our products much faster. But I don't think it's going to be a bad year now."