Newfoundland (NL) and Labrador’s waters will welcome the snow crab season on April 1, 2025 with upward quotas…and no price.
On March 22nd, the Fish, Food & Allied Workers (FFAW) and the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) failed to negotiate the seasonal price. They eventually had to push the talks to March 23 or 24 for third-party arbitration.
Although this is always the case most seasons and recalls a similar impasse in 2024, this year’s indecision is dire.
FFAW/ASP have to not only to key in 25% tariffs from China but probable surtax, too, from the United States.
Set for April 2, 2025, the U.S.’ tariffs carry much weight because the country receives 67% of seafood from Canada.
Crab Quotas Up 9%
As the price issue awaits mediation, the immediate concern is the newest quotas’ announcement by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
The department added 9% in total allowable catches (TAC) year-on-year (y-o-y) to the northwest Atlantic fisheries.
However, some regions in division 3K (Cape Freels area of Newfoundland) have seen their quotas fall by a massive 25%, y-o-y.
While 3K fishermen managed 9,998 snow crab tonnes in 2025, this year they can only land 7,643 tonnes, CBC reveals. prices This
The hit saw some of the area’s fishing groups demonstrate in Grand Falls-Windsor on March 21 against the cuts.
Also unlucky is subdivision 3P on the southern coast of NL, with a 16% yearly loss from 8,936 tonnes to 7,506 tonnes.
Division 3LNO between Cape Freels and Cape Mary, off the Grand Banks, has received 25% quota more than in 2024.
Despite the significant regional losses, overall fisheries in the northwest Atlantic will still amass 62,883 tonnes in total quotas. This is 5,315 tonnes more than the 2024 equivalent.
It therefore seems like quota luck has smiled upon some snow crab fisheries but skipped pricing just a week to Canada’s crabbing season. To learn more on how previous years unfolded in quota and price mechanisms, below are select statistics.
Canada Snow Crab Quotas and Price Statistics
Snow crab fisheries in Canada are basically those in the northwest Atlantic, primarily Newfoundland and Labrador. Both yearly quotas and pricing change due to the reigning market needs in the United States and the dollar exchange rate. Actually, 91% of all snow crab imports by the U.S. come from Canada.
How have crab quotas changed in the past five seasons?
In 2021, the Fish, Food & Allied Workers (FFAW) set the total allowable catch (TAC) of snow crabs at 38,186 tonnes. By 2022, however, fishermen had relief as the TAC hiked by 30% to 50,470 tonnes. In 2023, the quota upped to 54,727 tonnes and so was 2024’s quota by 5.2% to 57,586 tonnes. The latest of 2025 is also up, to 62,883 tonnes.
Does the dollar exchange rate affect pricing of Canada’s snow crabs?
The landing prices are determined by the reigning U.S. dollar and Canadian dollar exchange rate, because most crabs are U.S.-bound. According to FFAW, any change in the exchange rate by 2.5 cents adds or subtracts 7 cents to the new weekly price.
How has pricing been in the past three years?
Next are date-by-date fixtures by the FFAW in the past three seasons. Notably, 2022 had three times the prices of 2023 and 2024:
2022: fishermen enjoy C$7.60 ($5.30) per pound at the start of the season, which ends at C$6.22 ($4.33) in July.
2023: the lowest price was at the start of the season on April 9 at C$2.20 ($1.53) per pound while the highest was August 27 at C$2.60 ($1.81).
2024: the initial price was C$2.60 ($1.81) in April but by end season it had climbed to C$3 ($2.09) per pound.
NB: all the above exchange rates are based on the current March 2025 currency trends rather than the actual years above.