Tag Archives: eel fisherman Austin Townsend
Fishermen greet DFO baby eel licence plan with uncertainty
The department is offering 120 fishermen currently employed by the eight commercial groups their own small licences for next year’s season, in what the letters say is a bid to “broaden the distribution of benefits” of the fishery. It is also offering elver licences to 30 fishermen currently licensed to catch adult eels. Austin Townsend, a 26-year-old elver fisherman from Lockeport, N.S., said while the proposal looks good for him on paper, he’s suspicious of the “Robin Hood” tactic where quota is simply plucked from the commercial groups, and worries he could be worse off financially. He said in a good season, he will make between $40,000 and $90,000 working for Shelburne Elver, which has the equipment to hold elvers and the networks to export them. But Townsend said if he goes it alone, he will still likely have to sell to a middleman who will take a cut. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:23
