The Union Forum - July-Aug 2008 - Fishermen, Food and Allied Workers

Wetting
a line
Harvesters kept close watch on cable-laying
project in sensitive marine area
It was a plan that, at its outset,
appeared to be ready to proceed in
Trinity Bay without a whole lot of
input or guidance by harvesters.
But in the end, after the FFAW
stepped in, those same harvesters were
able to monitor — first-hand — the
laying of the Tele-Greenland sub-sea
fibre-optic cable.
“We had the experience from last
year with the Persona cable on the
south coast, so we learned from that
about the need to have field workers in
place and people on the boat through
the cable-laying process,” says the
FFAW’s secretary-treasurer David
Decker.
“The time we were were told they
doing it was right in the peak of the
fishing season, so we wanted to make
sure, in terms of interaction, there was
no interference with harvesters and the
cable-laying. “
Decker says the company agreed to
hire local fishing boats and the fisheries
liaison people to make sure the
process went ahead with minimal conflict
in the sensitive marine area.
“We had our people there, we had a
fishing vessel accompanying the
30 July/August 2008 The Union Forum
JAMIE BAKER
The Union Forum
cable-laying ship and plotting the
course ahead,” he says.
According to information from the
provincial Department of Innovation,
Trade and Rural Development, the
cable is part of Tele-Greenland’s $140million
Greenland Connect project
geared to improve telecom services in
Greenland.
The physical cable itself is nearly
5,000 kilometres long, running from
Greenland to Milton in Trinity Bay and
was laid mostly by the Maersk
Responder with support from the Blue
Castor.
Given that the cable is being laid in
Trinity Bay in the summer, Decker
says it was crucial that harvesters have
a first-hand say in how the project
would be carried out.
“It’s absolutely imperative to have
fishermen involved. This is coming in
on their fishing grounds, so their
knowledge is important in making sure
the conflict is minimized,” Decker
says.
A federal map, taken from the environmental
assessment prepared by LGL Ltd.,
showing the Smith Sound route for the
Tele-Greenland subsea fibre-optic cable.
One of the key concerns was the
possibility of having fishing gear damaged
as a result of the cable-laying
activity.
As of late July, at least one instance
of fishing gear being damaged had
been reported, but Decker said the system
that was put in place worked to
alleviate the problem.
“There was some gear loss that our
people identified and our people got in
contact with the harvesters and in contact
with Tele-Greenland in terms of
compensation,” he says. “The process
if gear got caught or damaged, was to
basically take the numbers on the gear
to identify the owner and then we’d
look to the company to compensate the
fishermen for lost gear.”
In addition to providing security for
fishing gear, Decker said the company
will also contribute to science programs
for harvesters in the region.
“They understand the interference
that can be created for fishermen by a
project like this, so they are also putting
money into a crab and cod science
programs in Trinity Bay,” he says.
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