Mr. McCurdy said the government appears to be trying to “weasel through an election campaign” before making a final decision on quotas.
He said the interim quotas in Shrimp Fishing Area 6 released yesterday by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans “make a mockery of the concept of adjacency.”
“It’s ironic that this announcement was made the same day that Prime Minister Harper was in St. John’s trying to bamboozle us into forgetting how his government treated us under offshore oil revenue sharing and equalization rules.”
Mr. McCurdy said quotas available to adjacent inshore shrimp fleets in Newfoundland and Labrador have been cut by 40 per cent compared to last year, while quotas for offshore fleets have been reduced by barely 10 per cent.
“In total, quotas for inshore fleets are down by a whopping 52 million pounds from a year ago. That’s the equivalent of four shrimp plants, evaporated into thin air.”
“Let’s face it, the Harper Government is the Government for Big Companies,” Mr. McCurdy said.
“I can’t imagine a single Newfoundlander or Labradorian who fishes shrimp, or works in a shrimp plant, or believes in fair play, will even contemplate voting Conservative in the wake of this decision.”
He said the Union accepts the need for quota reductions in light of diminished catch rates and negative scientific assessments on the shrimp stocks, but they should have been implemented fairly. He said by implementing an interim decision, the federal government is trying to, “lull us into waiting till the election is over to see what the final quotas are.”
“But they’ve already made it clear — we’re getting shafted.”
