No compensation for East Coast shrimp fishermen hit by Northern Shrimp quota changes
The federal fisheries minister has flatly rejected the notion of compensating fishermen in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick who are facing reductions in their northern shrimp quotas. During a news conference in Halifax July 21, Dominic LeBlanc said the fishery is still viable for those fishermen, so compensation is not needed. “We wouldn’t compensate people who are prosecuting a viable fishery,” said LeBlanc, standing next to the Halifax Harbour at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. “But we’re sending a signal to both the inshore fleet in Newfoundland and Labrador and to the offshore sector in other provinces… that there are tough years ahead, it would appear, in terms of the scientific advice.” LeBlanc recently scrapped the last-in, first-out (LIFO) policy and replaced it with a system of proportional sharing. He said his decision on LIFO was based on science and is in the best interest of the shrimp stocks, which are in decline. Read the rest here 11:43
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