Herring quotas focus of N.B. fisheries meeting

FREDERICTON, New Brunswick – Herring quotas are expected to dominate discussion when federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn visits New Brunswick Friday.

He is scheduled to sit down with New Brunswick fisheries minister Rick Doucet in Miramichi for a late-afternoon meeting.

New Brunswick fishermen operating seiners off the province’s east coast say they are only able to catch about half of their quota because of the management practices of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Those practices keep New Brunswick fishermen out of certain areas they consider their traditional fishing zones near Prince Edward Island.

A deal was struck in 2004 limiting large New Brunswick seiners to waters deeper than 120 feet.

Island fishermen had accused New Brunswick fishermen of allowing the nets to touch the ocean bottom and damage breeding grounds for lobster.

“There are no New Brunswickers that want to go damage anything that’s in P.E.I.,” said Jean Lantiegne, director general of New Brunswick’s Midshore Fishermen’s Federation.

“I think that our fishermen are very sensitive to that issue. They even installed some cameras to make sure that when they do set their seines, they don’t touch the bottom of the ocean,” he said Thursday.

Lantiegne said until DFO is willing to be more flexible with the opening of the season and the boundaries off Prince Edward Island, the five New Brunswick seiners will not be able to reach their quota.

“I’m sure that with good will from the three parties involved in this situation … that it is possible for us to find common ground where everybody can live peacefully and make sure that everybody can also make their fishing economy work,” said Lantiegne.

Neither minister, or their officials were available to talk about the Friday meeting.

Doucet is also expected to seek some assurances from Hearn that DFO won’t change any rules in the shrimp fishery without first consulting the province.

And New Brunswick fishermen are concerned there are loopholes that could see snow crab licenses bought by outside interests, resulting in quota going to other provinces such as Prince Edward Island.