Fish processing plants in New Brunswick resumed full operations Friday, one day after a judge ordered an injunction to prevent fishermen from blocking access to the facilities in an ongoing dispute over the import of U.S. lobsters.
Ronald LeBlanc, a lawyer representing the nine processing plants who applied for the injunction, said no demonstrations were reported outside the plants since the 10-day injunction was granted Thursday.
LeBlanc said he hopes ongoing negotiations will resolve the dispute, but he added that the processors have not ruled out asking for another injunction if they think it's necessary. "It's certainly not off the table," he said from Moncton. "It all depends on how the discussions go with the union and the fishermen and how everybody behaves."
Tensions over lobster prices bubbled over last week, when fishermen in the province held demonstrations in Cap-Pele and Shediac and trucks were blocked from delivering Maine lobsters to three processors. On Wednesday, they staged a protest outside the Fredericton office of federal Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield, where some of them dumped their lobster traps.
Some officials with the Maritime Fishermen's Union met Friday with Ashfield. A spokeswoman for the minister said they discussed industry-led resolutions and strategies aimed at preventing similar disputes from arising in the future, but she declined to release further details.
Processors in the province have agreed to pay a minimum of $2.50 per pound for processed lobster and $3 per pound for live market lobster. But the union says fishermen need $4 per pound for both fresh and processed lobster just to break even.
