Lobster licence holders voting on whether to have one-day weekly closure

By Tina Comeau

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

Lobster licence holders in lobster fishing area (LFA) 34 in southwestern Nova Scotia are voting on whether they want to give lobster landings a break for one day during each week of the upcoming commercial lobster season.

The decision on whether to recommend a one-day weekly closure will require a 66 per cent, or higher, majority vote of the returned ballots – emphasis on the words returned ballots.

Lobster licence holders have until a Nov. 4 deadline to mail the ballots back to DFO, or to turn in their ballots over to their port rep. DFO and the port reps are scheduled to meet on Nov. 9 for the fall LFA 34 advisory committee meeting to discuss the ballot results.

Last year lobster fishermen did not go fishing on Sundays during the six-month season. As it states on the ballots that have been mailed out to the licence holders in Yarmouth, Shelburne and Digby counties, last season representatives from the LFA 34 advisory committee and lobster buyers and dealers recommended a one-day closure to reduce the amount of lobster being landed in response to the economic downturn.

The intention was not to flood the market with a glut of lobster.

The year before that there was no Sunday fishing the first three weekends of the season for much the same reason.

But fishermen still didn’t get the prices they were hoping for.

This time around no specific day of the week is being offered up for closure. Rather if licence holders vote yes to a one-day-a-week closure, they’re being asked what day of the week they want to see closed.

DFO area director Ian Marshall, who co-chairs the LFA 34 advisory committee, says the mail-out comes after the committee drafted new terms of reference. He says every decision that comes before the committee won’t be the subject of a mail-out, but this issue is so important that it is felt every licence holder should be given their chance for input. “The reps feel that every licence holder should be given an opportunity to voice their opinion in a secret mail-out,” Marshall said. “If they vote based on the opinion of their crew or their own personal opinion, that’s up to them.”

Argyle lobster fisherman Ashton Spinney, co-chair of the LFA 34 advisory committee, reiterates that the onus is on licence holders to make their opinion known. “This time all the onus is going to be on the licence holder and that’s what we really want. We want the licence holders to make the decisions,” he said. “We need to have the voice of the fishermen and this is the best way we feel to go about doing that.”

While port cluster meetings could have been held on the issue, not everyone attends those meetings. With a mail-out, everyone gets a ballot. What they choose to do with that ballot is up to them.

One thing that is not in dispute heading into the season is opening day. Dumping day is set for Monday, Nov. 30. The only thing that could change that from happening is the weather. Winds in excess of 26 knots in any direction would initiate a delay. If 14 of the 19 voting members on the advisory committee recommend a delay, DFO will issue a variance order delaying the opening time.