The establishment of the Fish Processing Licensing Board (FPLB) was supposed to remove politics when granting and rejecting license applications, but the provincial government has started to interfere in the process as demonstrated with the rejection of a shrimp license for Valleyfield , says Opposition Leader Yvonne Jones. The issue was raised earlier today in the House of Assembly.

Earlier this month, former FPLB Chair Richard Cashin stated on the Fisheries Broadcast that government’s rejection of the recommendation for a shrimp license for Valleyfield was the “most egregious decision ever made by the Department of Fisheries.” Cashin also stated that “government’s experiment with independence has come to an end.”

“Government’s decision to reject the recommendation of the FPLB raises many questions,” said Ms. Jones. “If government is not going to follow recommendations that are supposed to be outside political interference and influence, then why have the FPLB at all? After listening to Mr. Cashin’s comments I can only conclude that government is no longer making decisions in the best interest of the industry and are instead following their own political agenda.”

Jones also commented on the fact that Harry Harding, MHA for Bonavista North who was also on the Fisheries Broadcast, criticized the decision and stated that the minister was fooled by the lobbying of fish processors. She says it is of concern that a minister is rejecting independent recommendations simply because other processors are lobbying against such a license.