- 5 weeks ago
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00:00We've got six or eight trailers left to come off the auto ramp.
00:05There's 300 cars down below that can't start without those trailers being removed.
00:09We have zero room for error today.
00:11We're trying to bring attention to the crisis that's happening in our crab fishery.
00:16How long are we supposed to wait before we start fishing?
00:19This is the worst year I've seen.
00:21We've got almost 500,000 pounds of crab to catch.
00:24Trying to get that in now is going to be like wishing on a star.
00:30The crab season has opened, but the boats are all tied up.
00:40The entire Newfoundland crab industry is at a standstill.
00:45A surplus in crab from last year has hit the market hard, forcing processors to lower the current price per pound.
00:57They're talking $2.50, $3.00.
01:00I mean, for us, take a $4.00 drop in the price of crab is a big thing.
01:05While the Fishermen's Union fights for a price increase, the skippers are left anxiously waiting.
01:11We're sort of playing the waiting game now.
01:13It's going to cause us some problems.
01:16When the news drops that the price is being set at $2.20 a pound, more than $5 less than last year, workers in the crab industry hit the picket lines.
01:27No one in Newfoundland is allowed to do the same amount.
01:34Hello, all of us.
01:35What's wrong?
01:36We're at the confederation building, the steps of the confederation building this morning.
01:40And we're trying to bring attention to the crisis that's happening in our crab fishery this summer with the tie-up and the low price for our product.
01:50The livelihoods are at stake.
01:52We know the product that we're landing, the crab, is worth a lot more than $2.20 a pound.
01:58And we should be getting a lot more for it.
02:01So gathering all the fishermen, plant workers, anybody involved in the fishery here this morning and bringing attention to this crisis is what we've got to do.
02:10So with that in mind, folks, go back to your official motto, keep fighting back, keep up that pressure.
02:19Right now, the start of the fishery is, we don't know.
02:24We'd hope to get out in the next week or so, but the way it is, the crisis that we're in right now, we can't see a time or a date that we can start, right?
02:32Not at this point.
02:34The current offer is a gut punch to the fishers.
02:37But it threatens more than just them.
02:39The extreme drop in the price of crab could devastate the entire fishing industry on the island.
02:46The crab industry for Newfoundland, it generates the most amount of money and it employs the most amount of people.
02:51And that includes fishermen and processors.
02:55Yeah, it's really the only thing now that's really keeping the fishing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador alive.
03:03It's been two weeks since the standoff started.
03:06The processors and the Fisherman's Union are deadlocked on the current offer of $2.20 a pound.
03:12At that price, many captains could go bankrupt.
03:16The uncertainty is bearing down hard on one of Quinlan's top skippers, Paul Duque.
03:22That's your anchor you got in there in LA!
03:26There's still some dispute on about price, so whatever is all straightened away, we'll go on then.
03:33Whenever that's going to be, could be two, three days, could be a week.
03:36And the shutdown has a ripple effect on many other businesses.
03:40My name is Dean Bartlett.
03:42I'm the managing director of Vaughan here in Newfoundland.
03:45Basically, we sell all the crab pots.
03:47We probably sell maybe four or five thousand a season.
03:50Our main man is Sean, and he's the guy who puts the net together.
03:54This is the drawstring.
03:55This is what keeps holding tight and keeps it together on the bottom.
03:59He's really, really fast at assembling.
04:01On a good day, I can do 50.
04:03It's a big rush for us to get ready for the local market, so we rely on him a lot.
04:08This is designed that if this pot is lost on the bottom, this will break down over time,
04:13and no crab will die, they'll get out and sustain the stocks right there.
04:17Without some of these nets that we make, they're not able to fish.
04:21So it's important that we have the people and we have the knowledge to be able to do what they ask.
04:26This season looks to be starting a lot slower than last season.
04:29Prices are down, and we can see it here in our business.
04:32It's not as much activity as it was last year, so prices do make a huge difference, of course.
04:37Crab boat captains with big enterprises need to pull in over a million dollars during crab season to stay in business.
04:44The boat crews make the majority of their annual income from the fishery as well.
04:50And it's hard money to make.
04:55Crab fishing means days that often stretch over 20 hours.
04:59And those long hours are often done in extreme conditions.
05:04This is one of the most dangerous occupations on the planet.
05:09Ron and his crew are trying to make the best of a terrible situation.
05:14I'm trying to get every cent I can, right?
05:17For the crew as well.
05:18I mean, everybody wants to make a good annual wage.
05:21Here's the bridles looking a little good.
05:23And another fishing family has as much at stake on this year's crab season as anyone.
05:33Three, two, one, oh!
05:35The power's invested in a multi-million dollar boat at the end of last season.
05:41And the ongoing price negotiations are putting everything at risk.
05:46But like the other fishers, for now they have no choice but to try and stay busy.
05:51It's a bit hard on the head in a sense.
05:54Like, you know, you're getting a lot of info back from our union and other people too.
06:00Like, you know, they're saying about the market.
06:02Like, they're not buying as much crab and whatnot.
06:04But anyway, hopefully it'll start to move.
06:07We can't afford to lose one day, you know.
06:09We had to be out of the gate.
06:11Every penny's coming out of our pocket for sure.
06:14Skippers can't afford losses from a single day of fishing.
06:20And they've already lost more than a dozen.
06:23To make matters worse, the crab loses its value later in the season as the Atlantic warms up and reduces the quality of the catch.
06:31It's not going to be like it was prior to.
06:33Last couple of years it's been really good.
06:35This year's crab price is the lowest it's been in a decade.
06:38It's going to be devastating.
06:39It's definitely going to be devastating for a lot of people.
06:42It is disappointing.
06:43We were on the right path.
06:45But you're going to work hard at it until you like to make the best of it.
06:49Like everyone else, there's no one who wants to do it for nothing.
06:54While the skippers hope and pray for a quick resolution to the crab pricing,
06:59the Royal Canadian Air Force's 103 Search and Rescue Squadron is preparing for its own season of aiding all fishers and boaters in the North Atlantic.
07:09I'm my name's Captain Daniel Noonan.
07:10I'm an aircraft commander here at 103 Squadron in Gander.
07:13We're going to head out.
07:14We're going to fly down to Placentia Bay in Newfoundland and we're going to conduct boat hoisting operations with a Coast Guard vessel.
07:19The team of seasoned professionals receives dozens of distress calls every year.
07:25And they often come at night when crews are sailing home after some hard days of fishing.
07:30Mayday, mayday, mayday.
07:33So this training session is happening in total darkness.
07:39Nighttime search and rescue missions are the more challenging missions just due to its darkness.
07:44Imagine being out in the middle of nowhere and there's no sources of light.
07:47It just creates more challenges for the crew to deal with.
07:51Tonight's training mission is happening aboard a CH-109 Cormorant, an all-weather long-range helicopter capable of reaching speeds up to 277 kilometers an hour.
08:04While the helicopter and crew make their way to meet the Coast Guard vessel, Marine Communications and Traffic Services is brought into the loop.
08:13All stations, all stations, this is Placentia Coast Guard radio, Placentia Coast Guard radio, Placentia Coast Guard radio.
08:20The MCTS started out in the 1940s using Morse code before switching to radio in the 1950s.
08:28This unit is a beacon of hope and vital information for captains and crews of all kinds as they navigate the unforgiving waters of the North Atlantic.
08:38I'm Natasha Watkins and I'm a Marine Communications and Traffic Services Officer here in Placentia, Newfoundland.
08:43We maintain a radar watch.
08:45We alert any of the vessels of traffic information or hazards.
08:49We also pass along weather conditions.
08:52We're the initial call when there's a distress going on.
08:55So I guess that's why technically we're the eyes and ears of the ocean.
08:59Tonight, those eyes and ears are on point to make sure nothing interferes with the training mission.
09:05We've received calls all throughout the night.
09:07Breakdowns tend to happen towards the end of the night.
09:10People may be running out of fuel, mechanical issues.
09:14Many of the calls they receive are related to life-threatening injuries sustained by fishers.
09:20Having well-trained search and rescue technicians, or SARTEX, is essential in order to save lives.
09:27Pointing to boats and pulling patients off boats happens quite often.
09:31A big challenge for us is figuring out how we're going to get the SARTEX onto the boat
09:35and how we're going to get that person off.
09:377, Edward.
09:38Victor.
09:39Keep.
09:40Keep.
09:41Gotcha that.
09:42The SARTEX clamp onto the helicopter's hoisting cable and lower down 150 feet to the deck of the boat.
09:49If something were to go wrong and they fall into the Atlantic, the frigid water would trigger an instant gasp reflex,
09:56forcing water into the SARTEX lungs, greatly increasing their chance of drowning even before hypothermia sets in.
10:04Okay, we're going to go from the basket.
10:08Check that.
10:1034, right.
10:12Check.
10:14Position of the deck, clear the bow.
10:16Two better out.
10:19No matter when emergencies happen, this crew needs to be ready for calls from desperate skippers in trouble,
10:26at night, on the North Atlantic.
10:29We're going down.
10:31We're going down.
10:37Check.
10:38Joe, how's the fuel doing?
10:39Uh, pretty good.
10:40We've got, uh, 2170.
10:44Out on Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, the Royal Canadian Air Force Search and Rescue 103 Squadron
10:50is conducting critical night training ahead of a busy spring season.
10:54Tonight's mission is straightforward, but far from simple.
10:58The search and rescue technicians have to rappel down to the boat.
11:05Secure a rescue basket to simulate a patient, and then make it safely back up to the chopper.
11:14Despite the cold, wet and dark conditions, the RCAF 103 Search and Rescue Squadron completes their training mission without a hitch.
11:23We conduct multiple hoists, up and down, with baskets.
11:28Everything went smooth.
11:29It was a good training night, and we'll be ready for a call when they come.
11:34It's the start of a new day over at OceanX in St. Johns Harbour, where Assistant Peer Superintendent Johnny Coombs is gearing up for an extra busy day.
11:46So the sanderling is in port here with a full load of cargo for the island.
11:50Normally we have 12 hours to do the sanderling.
11:52Now we're down to eight.
11:54We have zero room for error today.
11:56The sanderling was held up by sea ice and has arrived four hours late.
12:01We're the oldest in the fleet.
12:04The 50-year-old sanderling has to avoid potentially dangerous ice conditions.
12:09This time of year, springtime, east coast, we've got to keep an eye out for icebergs, ice.
12:15When we encounter it, we do our best to skirt around it, and sometimes it adds a little bit of time to the trip.
12:21And ship delays mean more pressure on Johnny and his crew.
12:26Whenever a boat arrives late here, it adds hours, adds pressure, so timelines get shortened up.
12:32It's going to be a challenging one.
12:34Adding to his load today is training up a new hire, who recently joined the team.
12:39On board with me today is one of our newest Assistant Peer Superintendents.
12:42It's Ron Murphy.
12:44It's his first vessel.
12:45It's a lot to take in.
12:46He'll be nine months to a year trying to learn it on his own.
12:49It's a very important job.
12:51I mean, if this place shuts down, there's a lot of upset people on the island.
12:54You sit at home at your kitchen table, you look around, a lot of that stuff came from here.
12:58There's a big process of how stuff makes it onto this island, and it's because of OceanX.
13:03Training someone here at OceanX, for me, it's fun.
13:06I'm here, I guess, almost nine years.
13:08We're just going to head up on the weather deck there.
13:10When you're training someone in and showing them the little things that you've forgotten,
13:14or just become so normal for you, you know, it's a bit refreshing because it's easy to become complacent in your job.
13:21Johnny and the other Assistant Peer Superintendents are responsible for coordinating the offload and reload of thousands of tons of cargo on their ships,
13:30including the handling of hazardous materials, dealing with broken machines,
13:35and ensuring all the workers on the pier make it home safely at the end of their shifts.
13:42Ronnie, in the trains today, we got new operators.
13:45It's about a good experience for them on the Sanderling.
13:47Volumes are a little lower.
13:50Today, Johnny's teaching Ron the art of managing three cranes as they unload the 634-foot Sanderling.
13:58The ship has an old and unique ballast system.
14:02It depends on the cargo it carries to maintain its balance.
14:06The weather deck holds four layers of containers, eight wide, ten long.
14:12Cranes take away one layer at a time, moving side to side,
14:16so the stress on the ship's hull is kept within acceptable tolerance.
14:21Once the weather deck is empty, stevedores clear large industrial vehicles from the main deck.
14:27Finally, the auto gang clears over 250 cars and trucks from the lower levels.
14:33This way, follow me, fast.
14:35Two high, Greg, one down, one up.
14:38If the crane is loading three high, and he already has ten loaded, how many is left to load?
14:44Um, don't ask me that.
14:47Ron's first look at this operation has his head spinning.
14:50It's a little nerve-wracking, kind of getting my feet wet a lot sooner than what I would have thought.
14:54There's so much to take in.
14:56He'll have a long day, but we'll see how he holds up.
15:02Over in Vermeus, the Powers family are dealing with their own troubles.
15:06The union is still fighting for a higher crab price, so no one is fishing.
15:12The price drop is less money for my two young fellas and the crew. They're very important.
15:20Unfortunately, with his recent investment and crab on hold, Gerard is reliving a nightmare.
15:27In 91, I got my first vessel.
15:31And here, in 92, there were moratorium closure of all the ground fish in Newfoundland.
15:39Everything shut down. No more selling. He couldn't sell no more cod.
15:43It was devastating.
15:45You know, we didn't know what to do, whether try to sell the new vessel we were just after getting.
15:51And we decided, we said, why don't we try the crab, right?
15:55And it saved me and a lot of other guys. But no, look at me.
16:03The price for crab is still sitting at $2.20.
16:07A devastating drop after last year's price of $7.60.
16:12For skipper Ron Curtis and his 500,000-pound quota, that's a loss of over $2 million.
16:19You look at the last few years, I mean, the fishermen had a few extra dollars in their pocket,
16:23so they're saying it's a good opportunity to buy new gear or it's a good opportunity to upgrade your boat.
16:28For Ron and the Quinlan team, their installation of a new refrigerated seawater system, or RSW,
16:35on their boat less than six months ago is adding pressure.
16:39The RSW keeps the crab alive, upping its value.
16:43But the system costs a lot of money, like everything else in this business.
16:48Change over this boat to an RSW system from box system, it was quite costly.
16:55You're scratching your head saying, did we do the right thing?
16:57Are we after spending more money than we had?
17:05While the skippers and their crews hold out hope that their union can get them a better price,
17:10being stuck on shore means no money is coming in, and lots is still going out.
17:16There's a lot of things against us.
17:18Again, fuel went up the last couple of years.
17:20Bait is the same thing. Bait will always be harder now.
17:23And everything, like the maintenance on this new boat.
17:26Like, it's just, it's like everything costs money, right?
17:28We're waiting. We got our fingers crossed.
17:30It's the same conversation wherever you go.
17:32We know it's going to be a hard year.
17:34It's going to be a fight for every cent we can get.
17:36But we're hoping our union, we're up for the task.
17:39And as fishermen, we're going to wait and see.
17:42We're going to whisper a little prayer that we're going to come out on top.
17:52In St. John's at OceanX, Johnny and his team have less than eight hours to turn around their ship, the Sanderling.
17:59What are you doing on Bay 1 and Bay 2?
18:01We do Bay 1 first, so I got fish boxes coming at you there.
18:04And the new guy, Ron Murphy, is trying to take it all in.
18:08So far, it's very busy. It's intimidating.
18:12But Johnny's a good teacher.
18:14We got six or eight trailers left to come off the auto ramp.
18:17It's a big push on to get those off.
18:20There's 300 cars down below that can't start without those trailers being removed.
18:25There's a lot of trailers on the boat, so the main deck is full.
18:29As for now, everything seems to be going as good as it can go.
18:32So we'll see how long that keeps up for.
18:35As Ron wraps his head around clearing the main deck,
18:38Stevedore Hassan Mahmoud moves in to help roll off the trailers.
18:43Everyone depends on me, especially the guys who are taking the chains and the guys who are lashing.
18:49This is my job to watch them and make sure not go in the pinch points.
18:54It is a little bit tight, yeah, because these trailers are longer, right?
18:58So try to find more room that he can be able to have an angle and turn.
19:03I came here in 2007 from Sudan, Northeast Africa.
19:09I did work offshore a couple of years, and then from there I got this job, I think 2019.
19:15The trailers are unshackled and are quickly moved off the sanderling.
19:20Next up, the auto gang rushes in to start removing cars from the lower levels.
19:29While the cars roll off the ship, Johnny turns his attention to loading the sanderling back up with containers.
19:36Give him six empties for the wall and deck it out with full ones, please.
19:40And he decides it's time to give Ron his first solo mission.
19:44Johnny's taking care of the weather deck, you know, taking the cans on and off the boats.
19:47I'll be the yard supervisor.
19:48So the guys here loading the trucks and unloading the trucks for deliveries,
19:52basically if they need anything, they'll come to me.
19:54Ron will be there in case a machine goes down or a driver can't locate a container.
20:00Basically, anything the team needs on the pier.
20:04It's hectic to drive around here, that's for sure, but you learn as you go, I guess.
20:08You gotta have your head on a swivel.
20:09And not to mention the 70,000 pound containers in the air.
20:12That's pretty scary.
20:14If we get ran into, then we are in big trouble.
20:17Yep.
20:19Ron, we're gonna shoot down on the auto deck and take a look at, see how things are going.
20:28Okay.
20:29Johnny takes advantage of the empty lower levels to walk Ron through how the ship is properly loaded.
20:35Typically from Halifax, there's a lot of SUVs and trucks.
20:38So they're on the top two decks.
20:40Yeah.
20:41And down here is all your cars.
20:42Obviously, you can't fit a truck down here, me or you can't stand up.
20:45It is a dangerous place to forget yourself.
20:47You can then unlock a car and you get up and we have all been a victim to it.
20:52See?
20:54That's not Johnny's only bump.
20:56Just as they're nearing the finish line, one of their machines has gone down.
21:03So much for things going smoothly.
21:05One of our reach stackers just went down.
21:07Some mechanical issues, so hopefully it's not a start of things to come.
21:11Johnny and Ron need all the reach stackers working to stay on schedule.
21:16It's now up to OceanX Mechanics, Alex and Don.
21:22What's the rest of the world get around about Newfoundland?
21:26I don't know.
21:29Our climate.
21:33We only get two seasons.
21:36Winter and summer, pretty well.
21:38But this is a great spot to live in Newfoundland.
21:40They push these machines hard, and breakdowns are part of the game.
21:44So is quickly figuring out the problem.
21:47You can have four or five machines go down at once.
21:48It's like, it's that bad.
21:49So whether it's not a non-bolt day, but if it's a bolt day,
21:52he wants to do equipment up and running, which is understandable.
21:55You gotta get freight moving, right?
21:57Alex and Don quickly figure out there's a leak in the reach stackers' coolant system.
22:02Now, they have to find its source.
22:05I love the dirt coming from your boot fall on my face.
22:07It feels really nice.
22:09You like that?
22:10Yeah.
22:11Okay.
22:13Just let this go back for a second.
22:15While Alex and Don dig into the reach stackers' repair, Johnny encourages the rest of the team to pick up the slack.
22:21Hopefully, mechanics can get it back up quickly.
22:28Over in the town of Calvert, Jason and Gerard Power are keeping busy while the fishing union continues negotiations with the processors.
22:37They've been tied up now for over three weeks.
22:39For the first time in decades, Gerard and his family are facing ruin.
22:47And this time, there is no other fishery that can come to the rescue.
22:51We just have to go pay the bills, make the payments on the boats.
22:55It's ups and downs with the fishery.
22:58Adding to their stress is the fact that they have to manage new extra costs on the powerful sound.
23:03Like, you know, you really need $4 a pound, you know, to make a go of it.
23:08To pay the expenses, the fuel, the bait.
23:12The bait is up again this year, he says.
23:14And, you know, everything else is up.
23:17And so there's a certain price there you nearly need.
23:21She's bigger now.
23:22There's more engines in her.
23:23They are more expense to her.
23:25But then she'll bring in more product at the same time.
23:27As the season slips away, skipper Paul Duguay and his son Josh keep busy and try to stay optimistic.
23:37Trying to sort out our fixing the rope and putting the pots on as we go.
23:42Trying to knock it all out into one.
23:45We got 100 pots on now.
23:46There's still another 400 to go.
23:49Is that your first or second knock from the mark?
23:52That'd be 80.
23:5380 there.
23:55But in the market, not quite sure.
23:59We're not certain of anything yet.
24:02It is disappointing.
24:04We were on the right path.
24:06And they were even looking at time for more than what we got.
24:11That's it.
24:13If we can come up another little bit now and meet halfway mark, well, it'll be great.
24:19The halfway mark would land the price at around $4 a pound.
24:23The number a lot of captains need just to break even.
24:27Two days.
24:29We'll have it all.
24:30500 pots put aboard.
24:32Everything is secured on deck for when we're ready to go.
24:35Making sure that all of our anchors are here.
24:38Making sure all of their leads are good so we don't go losing any of them.
24:41Making sure that we got all our balloons, high flyers, stuff like that.
24:44When they say it's good to go, well, it's only taking the bait and the grocery and go on.
24:56Up in Bay de Verde, it's more of the same for Captain Ron Curtis.
25:00Time is slipping away now in our crab season.
25:04And we've got a big quota to catch.
25:06And we're going to get this boat ready to go crab.
25:08And now we've got to put our pots aboard, get that all straightened away.
25:11We've got some aluminum chutes to go aboard that directs the crab down into our RSW tank.
25:16So we've got to get that all situated and put aboard.
25:17We're taking our little bit of time here now because we're checking our pots as we put them aboard.
25:22And just making sure our crab pots are top-notch gear.
25:27For when we start fishing, we don't have anything to slow us down, you know?
25:31With less than eight weeks left until the snow crab begins to lose its quality,
25:36Ron and his crew are preparing themselves for the possibility of grueling back-to-back trips.
25:41So we're hoping for good catch rates.
25:43This boat can carry 100,000 pounds.
25:44The reality is we can take it in five trips.
25:48In a normal year, the crews fish for four or five days, then take a couple of down days.
25:54This year, they won't have any breaks between trips.
25:58On top of work days that can last over 20 hours.
26:02Well, I've got five crew members and five different families that are relying on what I catch or what we catch together.
26:09But we're hoping to be fishing within the next week or so.
26:11Fingers crossed.
26:12Every day counts now.
26:16Over at OceanX, every minute counts.
26:19As Johnny tries to complete the Sanderling on time, despite still being down a reach stacker.
26:25We're in a bit of a crunch time now.
26:27We got 60 containers to put on.
26:29We got an hour to go.
26:30And new guy Ron has had an interesting first day of school.
26:32How many do you think I'll get on?
26:33We got two cranes going?
26:35Yeah.
26:36In an hour, 40.
26:3840?
26:39So it looks like we'll be short 20?
26:40I think so, yeah.
26:41Close.
26:42Yeah.
26:43It's a pretty good guess.
26:44So we have 20 containers left to put on here.
26:46The autos are behind, so we're making the decision to get the containers on and then have a mad push to get the cars on.
26:54At the end of the day, despite being down a reach stacker, Johnny and his team got 95% of the job done.
27:05We got no O-ring on this bottom one.
27:08While Alex and Dawn keep working to get the reach stacker ready for the next ship, Johnny sets up his next move.
27:15We get the weather deck cleared up tonight and the crane's finished.
27:17You know, trailers will still be ongoing and trucking, so we're going to leave it in Ron's hands.
27:24With the ship almost ready to sail, he's going to leave Ron to direct traffic.
27:29But before he heads home, he sets up a little test for him.
27:33This evening I've mistagged some Montreal trailers for the Halifax boat, so we're going to see if Ron picks up on it.
27:40Each trailer has an ID tag that designates what ship they're loaded onto.
27:45We're hoping he doesn't mess up.
27:47A really important part of this job is making sure the goods get to where they're meant to go.
27:52All right, let's head on in there, Ron. I've got a couple things to pass over to you before I leave.
27:57And hopefully he won't wake me up tonight, but if you need me, I'll be there.
28:01Yeah, we'll see, we'll see. Today was good. Everything went as planned.
28:04There was lots of time for things to go around, I guess.
28:05But we'll hope the night continues on the way the day did.
28:14It's a new morning over at OceanX.
28:17And it's time for a well-rested Johnny Coombs to check on the new hire, Ron Murphy.
28:22How's it going today?
28:23Good, good. How are you?
28:24Good, good. No issues in the toolbox?
28:26No, all good.
28:27No? Everything's good.
28:28Everything is good.
28:29And Ron even passed Johnny's trailer tag test.
28:32Yeah, I don't know, something's not adding up. These are, I'm pretty sure these are meant for Halifax, but for some reason when I input them in our system, they're showing for Montreal.
28:42Never mind, wait now. Johnny pulling the fast one, I would imagine. That's...
28:47We kind of threw Ron to the wolves here. So far he stayed afloat and doing his thing, and we're more than happy to have him.
28:52But one thing that Ron did forget is the mailbag.
28:56At the end of every vessel, the mailbag is the information that has to go with the vessel, as per, you know, Government of Canada and regulations.
29:02The captain needs to know what's on there. If all computer systems fail, he has his paperwork, what he's carrying.
29:08We'll do the old technique and use the mailbag and tie it onto a rope and throw it up on the ship like a cowboy.
29:14Hey Ron, how's it going?
29:15Hey buddy, how are you?
29:17Good, good.
29:18It's a cold day?
29:19Yeah, no doubt.
29:20Other than the mailbag, Ron's a quick learner, which is good because Johnny needs the support.
29:27OceanX's biggest vessel, the Conagra, has arrived.
29:31And Don and Alex have the broken reach stacker repaired, so the team has all their tools in place.
29:38Ron, it's your first night on the Conagra?
29:40Yeah.
29:41First start to finish. The push is for midnight.
29:43Yeah.
29:44But the weather is not cooperating.
29:46So there's some obstacles today. Number one is the weather.
29:48It's detrimental to our equipment.
29:49We're going to try and avoid a shutdown, because I think we're looking at minus 25 this evening.
29:53Yeah, okay.
29:54So they'll kill us if we shut the machines down, along with the cranes.
29:58All right, I'm going to go get geared up, guys.
30:01Ron, don't forget your mittens.
30:02Okay.
30:03You're going to need them today.
30:04Yeah, I'll put the other mitts on.
30:05All right, buddy.
30:06Luckily, veteran crane operator Mike Yetman is on the clock to help speed up the process.
30:11Yeah, I'm just putting the dangerous goods can there aside.
30:16I'll be moving on to the reefers then, the refrigerated cargo.
30:20But the cold snap is severe and doesn't mix well with their machines.
30:24Everything freezes.
30:25This is a deep cold that we don't get very often.
30:28It needs to keep all the equipment up and running or they won't be in business.
30:34Right now, she's frozen again there now, actually, as we speak.
30:39Copy, mechanic.
30:40Go ahead.
30:41Go ahead.
30:42The spreader is frozen up.
30:43Can you come over and see if you can untie it, please?
30:46Yep, all right.
30:48Seconds later, pit crew Alex and Colin are on site.
30:53Anti-free solution in hand to unthaw the frozen spreader.
31:00Yeah, they got her working there.
31:01She's untied.
31:03Back in business.
31:04As the sun goes down, so does the temperature over at OceanX,
31:14where Johnny's giving Ron tips on how to speed up the load back on the Conagra.
31:19One of the most important things I got here for you is keeping the cranes equal.
31:23You know, I got 100 moves between the two cranes.
31:27So we need to keep them both busy for as long as possible.
31:29So I don't need, you know, one crane finishing at 9 and the other one is here working at 12 and doesn't get it done.
31:36Currently, with two cranes in operation, one crane has 70 containers, the other 30.
31:43That's the one thing you will get in trouble for here if you don't keep the cranes equal because it will come back to bite you.
31:48To fix the uneven number, Johnny instructs the ground crew to move Mike Yetman's crane so they can equalize the loading.
31:55We're going to move west there now probably 20 or 30 feet.
32:00You got to set her up in travel mode in order to move it, right?
32:06It takes three mechanics to move the crane to the desired spot.
32:10So she's there set up there now perfect, you know, so I'm just going to shut the crane out of here now.
32:16As a safety feature, Mike must shut down the crane completely to lock all moving parts into place before it's moved.
32:22But with the spreaders not in constant motion, they can freeze up in seconds.
32:31It's bitterly cold here this evening, you know, 15 to 20 minutes shot down in minus 25 temperatures.
32:37It'll cost you half an hour more in warm-up, so.
32:40Mike turns the crane back on.
32:43I think that might be good.
32:44With the crane in position, Mike attempts to resume with the load back.
32:54I don't think she's opening out of the way.
32:57The spreaders have frozen once again.
33:00It shouldn't be.
33:01This is eating into the time right now.
33:04It could be like 40 minutes down time after this vessel, which is important, right?
33:07It's boring, right?
33:09Hey, Cabby Keyes.
33:10What is it?
33:12You're still checking on something down here?
33:14Yeah.
33:15Let me know when it's all right.
33:16Yeah, will do.
33:18I had enough of this today, actually.
33:20I want to go home now.
33:22And watch the hockey game or something, right?
33:24The spreader was frozen once again, we had to fix that, so that was a bit of downtime.
33:35That downtime has cost them.
33:38But load back on the Conagra has resumed.
33:41Ron still has a chance to get this boat out by midnight.
33:45And that's down to Mike.
33:47I've got to go back in now for a couple of more lifts.
33:50And that'll be the day.
33:52I'm looking forward to going home now.
33:54That's what I'm looking forward to.
33:55A couple of coolers full of beer there.
33:58But at the end of the day, though, as long as everyone goes home safe, right?
34:02Everything else is meaningless, isn't it?
34:05Thanks to a highly motivated and talented crane operator, the job got done.
34:10So in my eyes, you seem like you're catching on well.
34:12We got the boat all done.
34:13It's on its way there out the harbour.
34:15How does it feel?
34:17Feels great.
34:18It's a crazy night.
34:19A lot of movement.
34:20A lot of process, but...
34:21You did good today.
34:22Yeah, thanks. Appreciate it. Thank you.
34:23I've got to ask you one thing.
34:24Yeah.
34:25Did you manage to get the mailbag brought over?
34:27What mailbag?
34:30Seriously, did you get the mailbag?
34:31I got the mailbag.
34:32All right.
34:33It's a new day on the island, and there's been some movement on the crab shutdown.
34:48Definitely mixed emotions this year where it's been such a chaotic spring, right?
34:53Being tied up for six weeks and just waiting to go fishing.
34:58The price on offer hasn't changed, but some concessions are being made by the processors.
35:04Even so, the union and the skippers are nearing the breaking point.
35:08How long are we supposed to wait before we start fishing?
35:12The market still dictates a low price.
35:14I mean, if they're going to fight for, what, 10 cents?
35:17Some people may be, but I don't see it.
35:19I don't see it.
35:20I've done the math.
35:21I can make this work.
35:22And by golly, we're going to try and make it work.
35:25I'm not just working for myself.
35:27I'm working for those guys as well.
35:29We all work together.
35:30We're a crew.
35:31And we work to try to bring in the catch so we can all make a decent living.
35:36At the current price, Ron will earn over $2 million less than he did last year.
35:41But at least he'll be able to keep the lights on.
35:48Come on, boys.
35:49Way too slow trying to get them boxes hooked on.
35:52After weeks of delays and failed negotiations, the Fishermen's Union and the processors reach an agreement,
36:01ending one of the longest shutdowns in Newfoundland's history.
36:05Now the race begins to hit the water.
36:08It's tough.
36:09No doubt about it.
36:10We're at a point where if we don't go now, we're going to start losing on the back end.
36:14So some guys already know that they've already got thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars lost
36:20before they even start.
36:22So that's a rough way to start a fishing season.
36:25The agreement guarantees that the fishers will get $2.20 a pound for their catch
36:30and processors will create a reserve for some of the crab.
36:33So that if the market price goes up, fishers will be paid more.
36:38While a deal has been struck, plenty of fishers are still upset.
36:42But for someone with a large enterprise like Ron, he has to get fishing.
36:47They're saying, wait, wait. Other fishermen are saying, wait, wait.
36:51But other fishermen haven't got on the line the same as what I got on the line here.
36:55And a lot more fishermen that are like me, you know, they got to go.
36:58They got hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars tied up in enterprises.
37:02And sitting home, I mean, waiting for something to happen, ain't going to pay the bills.
37:08I mean, I got no ill will towards anybody in what they want to do.
37:11I mean, if they want to stay home and wait it out, I mean, that's their prerogative.
37:16But at the end of the day, I mean, you got to look after your own investments.
37:22This season is one for the history books, let me tell you.
37:25I've been fishing for 30 years, and this is the worst I've ever seen.
37:29This boat is not fishing. They're not making any money.
37:32So if they're not making any money, they're going to go look elsewhere to make money.
37:35It's a hard job to try to find a good crew member, I'll tell you.
37:38The crew on these boats make most of their annual income during crab season.
37:42And deckhands can earn six figures in a good year.
37:45This year, they'll make a fraction of that.
37:48It's been too long.
37:49I have no other source of income only to this boat.
37:52And if she's not fishing, I'm not making no money.
37:54So it's really important.
37:56They look forward to crab season is where they make the bulk of their annual income.
38:00I mean, they know the price is down this year.
38:02They're not going to do as well as they did prior years.
38:04But they know that they work hard and we're starting out to try to get the most of our quota in.
38:10At the current price, Ron is hoping to bring in just over a million dollars in crab.
38:15But his expenses are at least that, if not more.
38:19That will keep him and his boat in business and his crew will survive.
38:23But it's going to be a very lean year for all of them.
38:26It's been too long of a wait now.
38:28So we got almost 500,000 pounds of crab to catch.
38:32Trying to get that in now is going to be like wishing on a star.
38:38We're going to try to get off this evening now.
38:40We got a bit of bait to put aboard.
38:41Waiting for a couple more crew members to come.
38:43And then we're going to shove off.
38:47Over in St. John's Harbor.
38:49That's us here at the PR6.
38:51Getting ready to depart to Arbor Grace.
38:54Another one of Quinlan's top skippers, Paul Duguay,
38:57his son Josh, and the rest of their crew,
39:00are also moving quickly to hit the fishing grounds.
39:04Let it go!
39:06We just untied there on the north side of St. John's Harbor.
39:10We're now heading to Baderburg.
39:12We're going at the crab here now.
39:15We're finally getting at it.
39:18Paul Duguay quietly guides the Atlantic storm through the Narrows.
39:23Like Ron, Paul is facing a huge drop in revenue from last season.
39:28And he still has to hit his quota to make ends meet.
39:31With the late start, nothing is guaranteed.
39:35We're six weeks behind now, but that's all we can do is put a lot of stress on everyone,
39:40especially after all winter is not working.
39:42It's a little bit of pressure for buying the bank account.
39:45It feels great to know that we're going.
39:47It's a relief for sure.
39:50It's 4 a.m. in Baderburg, where Paul Duguay has docked to pick up food, crew, and bait
40:01before heading out crab fishing after a six week delay to the start of the season.
40:06He knows if he can't hit his quota before the end of June, this terrible season will get worse.
40:12And his first fishing spot is still a day away.
40:16There's still 100 miles off, right?
40:20It's only getting further from then on.
40:22Usually, it goes out further.
40:24I go outside the 200 miles where we're going to start enclose and see how she goes from there.
40:31Maybe the crab is there.
40:33You'll be okay.
40:34Come on, baby. Come on, baby. Hold her, Jess.
40:37The Power family are also about to set sail to save their season and their business.
40:43It's great to get back at it and everybody, you know, relieved.
40:49Every day, every hour counts now.
40:52No one knows that better than skipper Ron Curtis, who's prepping his boat to leave the moment they're ready.
40:59Six weeks, almost seven weeks gone now, we've lost our fishing time.
41:03If we get a spurt of bad weather now where everyone's tied up for two or three days, we're going to be in a hard situation.
41:10But we're fishermen. We're going to try to do our best.
41:15Take a nap.
41:18We'll get out of here and go catch some fishies.
41:21It's time to get fishies.
41:26Make a bit of money.
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