Dungeness crab fisheries. (Photo: YouTube/OregonDungenessCrab)

Bill unfairly targeting us, seafood processor claims

A bill that would limit the amount of fishing permits any one company can possess is targeting US seafood processing leader Pacific Seafood Group, states the company.

But some fishers claim the family-owned Oregon firm has generated an illegal monopoly that pushes prices down for the state’s fishing fleet – a move that would violate federal anti-trust laws.

Gold Beach Republican Wayne Krieger introduced Senate Bill 668, saying he is frustrated with the company’s power to hinder competition in fish prices.

Additionally, Pacific Seafood is being faced with a class action antitrust lawsuit filed in Medford, Oregon, reports The Register-Guard.

The company has control of 50-70 per cent of the market for four key West Coast fisheries - whiting, Dungeness crab, shrimp and trawl-caught groundfish - according to economists. And the plaintiffs allege that Pacific Seafood uses its influence to lower the prices paid to the fleet.

Supporters of the bill said that Dulcich makes efforts to ensure his competitors follow suit once he decides what prices he wants to pay fishers, so his company is unable to saturate their markets with cheaper seafood and leave competitors stuck with a surplus.

In contrast, Pacific lobbyist Greg Peden of the Gallatin Group argued that Pacific Seafood’s ownership of fishing permits is “hardly monopolistic” because it possesses only 21 of the 2,200 available fishing permits in various industries, or about 1 per cent of the total.

Further, the bill is flawed because it “affects, to my knowledge, one person in this state. That’s a very personal piece of legislation,” he added.

But others who testified this week, such as Darus Peake of Garibaldi, a crab and salmon fisherman and chairman of the Oregon Salmon Commission, disagree.

He told that crab prices have been at least USD 0.25 below what they should be in each of the last five years.

“Pacific Seafood is the primary reason,” Peake said. “Owning any more than three permits by one entity gives a processor an unfair advantage.”

Earlier this month, US District Court Judge Owen Panner decided that because Pacific Seafood has enlarged the market for whiting, fishers have enjoyed better prices for their catch, reports Associated Press.

The lawsuit was originally filed by two fishers in June 2010.

Related article:

- Fishers sue seafood processing giant

By Natalia Real
[email protected]
www.seafood.media

Address:	16797 Southeast 130th Avenue - PO Box 97
City:	Clackamas
State/ZIP:	Oregon (97015)
Country:	United States
Phone:	+1 503 905 4500
Fax:	+1 503 905 4243
E-Mail:	[email protected]
Skype:	https://www.instagram.com/pacificseafood/
More about:

 

 

 

 

Print