A new rule for the lobster fishery has created fear which will result having fewer fishermen on the water in the coming years. It is told that a policy called stacking, which was brought in earlier this month, allows two lobster licences on one boat. One reason behind the change is to help fishermen deal with rising expenses such as fuel. Liberal MLA Harold (Junior) Theriault explained that there is a fear that will lead to the elimination of half of the lobster fishing fleet. He told there is also concern that the next step will be to allow three licences per boat, and then more.
MLA believes the Department of Fisheries and Oceans will play into their hand to give it to them. He added that the fear spread out, this wonderful fishery and into the communities. If that doesn’t happen, if that goes into the hands of a few like our groundfishery did, our coastal communities are dead. Period. Game over. Belliveau said Ron Chisholm, minister of fisheries for Nova Scotia, should write to his federal counterpart and urge Ottawa to put stacking on hold until consultations with the fishermen are held.
According to the MLA the main purpose is to steer the policies towards preserving the independent fishermen, not to let this go in the direction where a few can own the total licences or package of licences. Leslie Burke, regional director of fisheries and aquaculture management with the DFO, informed that stacking is a modification of a provision that has existed for 30 years that allowed two fishermen to fish from the same boat.
It is said that the new rules allow one fisherman, who must be an owner/operator, to acquire a second licence and fish with 150 per cent of the traps normally allowed under a single licence, he said, adding the stacking option is not mandatory.
