Harvesters say not all is doom and gloom despite the latest assessment of the shrimp stock.

The stock is divided into three management zones which stretch from north of Labrador to Notre Dame Bay. Only one zone, the one which sits entirely off Labrador, is considered healthy. The stock has declined consistently since the mid-90s.

FFAW-Unifor president Keith Sullivan finds it difficult to understand why different rules and catch quotas apply to the same stock.

He says only 10 per cent of the stock is fished in Zone 6, which is southern Labrador and the northeast coast of the island, while about 30 per cent of the stock is fished in Zone 5, which lies solely off the coast of Labrador north of Zone 6.