N.L. fishermen worried after double-whammy of snow crab, shrimp announcements

Fishermen in Newfoundland and Labrador say they’re shocked the total allowable catch for snow crab will be slashed 22 per cent this year — and some are relieved it isn’t worse news. “It’s going to be very difficult,” said Nelson Bussey, a fish harvester in Port de Grave, who’s predicting 40 per cent less crab than he caught last year. The quota, announced Monday by the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans, has been set at 35,419 tonnes. Bussey says the cut doesn’t match up with reality. continue reading the story here 09:40

Crab quota cuts are grim news – The news hit just before question period in the House of Assembly Monday afternoon that the federal government is cutting crab quotas by 22 per cent. This was an additional blow after the federal government cut the Area 6 shrimp quota by 63 per cent last week, in response to a declining biomass. Shellfish made up more than 80 per cent of the total landed value of seafood last year, so these kinds of cuts will have a huge economic impact. continue reading the story here 09:46

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