Ottawa’s lobster aid package has done nothing to improve the lot of fishermen. The aid package was a federal program to support this region’s struggling lobster industry. It fails to provide direct aid to fishermen, opined Fisheries Minister Rick Doucet. He was responding to a program unveiled by his federal counterpart, Gail Shea.
According to Doucet they welcome the additional funding that Ottawa is prepared to invest in marketing and promoting the region’s high-quality seafood products. It is told that this long-term initiative is overshadowed by the immediate challenges of lobster fishermen in our region who are getting significantly less this season for their catches. Fishermen have expressed concern about the negative effects that the economic slowdown is having on lobster prices.
Doucet said that New Brunswick is limited in its ability to offer direct support to fishermen. He added that fishermen have identified adjustments to employment insurance as one possible way to offset anticipated revenue losses, but this is clearly the jurisdiction of the federal government. The condition of lobster is no good in Canada and the federal government is trying hard to support by releasing aid packages and all. Unfortunately Ottawa’s aid package failed to help fishermen.
