Dear viewership, It has been brought to my attention that some folks arent happy with Chubby posting tag numbers, weights, and results of all fish including ours on facebook. I posted tag numbers for two reasons. First, because it was a great way for Canadian fishermen to get an idea as to what fish are selling for from each province, tag numbers in Canada are provincial without spin. Secondly, because it provided much needed transparency for a Canadian industry that has operated in a vacuum for way too long. The competition has accused me of sharing critical information regarding others fish. This is either misguided fear mongering, an attempt to keep everyone in the dark for reasons I will let you the reader surmise, or both. I am only providing the tag and weight (when we can and certainly our tag fact finding mission is not always successful or accurate as some tags are not revealed or reported accurately). When we settle our boats, we show a break down of the costs for each fish sold. US fishermen would be shocked to realize that many, if not most PEI Canadian fishermen still sell fish without a consignment settlement sheet which breaks down the air freight, Japanese costs, handling fees, exchange rates, and commissions. I dont know of any buyers in the US who dont provide this critical information as without providing they wouldnt get a single fish. The mission of this facebook page was to bring folks together to share information. There was no spin here. We simply reported prices and tags from the famous Tsukiji market prices as quickly as fish were auctioned off. I am truly sorry if reporting prices and market conditions offended anyone. It shouldnt have. The alternative is to keep prices and information shrouded in secrecy and to rely on the next best story your buyer can muster from the call center drop down menu. One of my favorite and most disingenuous wharf sales pitches I have heard over the years and one that again circulated this year in PEI, is the I have a direct sale to Japan if you give me your fish. Fishermen unknowingly is sending his fish to the auction floor in Japan thinking he is going direct sale to a supermarket or customer outside the auction. A few days later the fish sells and I report the tag, weight and market where the fish sold as the competition shamefully tells the fisher the direct sale customer hasnt received the fish yet. When it has been exposed that the tag and weight and market sold we posted online, the buyer then recants the story to the quality wasnt good enough for the direct sale even though he forgets he told the fisher days after the fish was sold at auction the customer hasnt received yet. Another favorite wharf sales pitch is Ive got orders. Now unless you are talking about the US market or Europe, orders dont apply for Tokyo market. Anyone can sell Tokyo. Orders are not required. Selling to some smaller local markets requires an order but often times the order fish is sold in Tokyo or Sapporo where orders are not required. GSF gets local market orders because they sell fish year round and have stroke in the market. TPF gets local market orders because they too handle a large volume of fish. Getting a good price commensurate with the quality of fish in Tokyo however often requires flying the right flag and having the right company in Japan represent you. So when I see buddy sell his fish to the guy who told him he has orders, and I know the company he sold it to in Japan has no one at Narita airport to even inspect his catch upon arrival, and then watch it sell in the wrong market on in the 25th position on the floor at Tsukiji, I shake my head. Worse the guy gets no paperwork or break down for his fish that was ordered, gets charged higher air freight and Japanese costs (14% fixed GSF/Chubby industry lowest) then he would have gotten with us, and as a results gets less for his fish. The long and short is story hour will continue on the wharves across the Maritimes if we dont hold folks accountable. The best way to keep people accountable is to make sure that information regarding the sales of tuna is available. However, I am certainly not opposed to bringing this site down and allowing the dark ages of tuna buying to continue in PEI if that is what folks want. I think reporting prices and tags brings transparency and as a result protection. If not, the stories continue and sets of free steak knives and used car sales tactics to get your fish will flourish. This will come at your expense. Selling to hard working folks who grade your fish here and abroad, and who provide transparent returns to fishermen should be the only way. Quality is quality. The market is the market. But making sure you are getting back everything you should on consignment can only be accomplished when fishermen demand more from their buyers and it starts with sharing information. We (the buyers) are not all the same despite the constant refrain we are. Some have more stroke in Japan than others. Some have lower costs. Some give fishermen settlement sheets. Demand more.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 13:32:20 +0000
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