Fishermen from the Magdalen Islands have lamented the lack of alternatives when the Department of Fisheries and Seas banned fishing for two fish they used as bait just weeks before their fishery opened.
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On Thursday, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) announced the closure of commercial fisheries for winter flounder and yellowtail flounder in the Gulf of St. Lawrence “indefinitely” for conservation reasons.
These two fish would serve as bait for fishermen, according to the Islands Bait Fishermen’s Grouping (RPAI).
“Stocks of winter flounder and yellowtail flounder have been in the critical zone since 2004 and 2009, respectively, in line with the precautionary approach, and the latest scientific assessments have not detected any signs of recovery,” the department said in a statement released on Thursday was distributed to the fishermen.
Except that according to the RPAI it would be the second year in a row that fishermen have been put in the way just before the lines were cast out. Last year, mackerel and herring fishing would have been banned a few days before fishing began.
“This repeated breach by the minister is accompanied by no alternative for fishermen, who find themselves losing all sources of income a few weeks before opening their fishery, while allowances would be available,” lamented Jean-Bernard Bourgeois, President of the RPAI, per press release.
In his opinion, these actions testify to “a blatant lack of knowledge about the reality of our fishermen,” he insisted in writing.
The RPAI represents eight owners, each hiring more than ten employees. The benefit of this fishery would be estimated at $2.2 million, according to the group.