The Quinlan Brothers, owners of Canada's largest snow crab processing plant, in Bay de Verde, Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), held a media event on Wednesday (Aug. 14) to counter the bad publicity suffered recently after provincial authorities threw out what they said were boxes of dead or weakened crab.

"We have nothing to hide," owner Robin Quinlan told reporters during the event, which was livestreamed and included a tour of the 22,700 square-foot, multi-million-dollar facility, as reported by the CBC. "We enjoy what we do. We produce a premium product. We've done it for 50 years and we're going to continue to do it." 

Quinlan said the event's goal was to be transparent and to stand up for the quality of its product. The company hired the media firm Pilot Communications to arrange the tour and be on site.

NL's Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture conducted surprise inspections of the Bay de Verde plant in May and June. They threw out 52,000 pounds of crab that they deemed unfit for processing and charged the company with four violations of the province's Fish Inspection Act and Fish Inspection Operations Regulations, as first reported by Undercurrent News.  

Quinlan said Wednesday that the plant's staff members wanted to prove they value the quality of their product before the annual crab season concluded. 

"The reason we're here is because the 507 people in this plant wanted to say something before we close the doors," he said. "These people have spoken by showing you what they do and now we can conclude our business for 2024 and look forward to a productive 2025."

Pilot account manager Anna Krasnikova took the lead in asking questions of Quinlan's floor supervisor Cathy Knapman.

"We follow protocol like we do every time, from the day we open till the day we close. Our processes don't change, no matter what the situation with the crab is like," Knapman said.