Fish harvesters protested in Corner Brook yesterday, calling restrictions laid down by the federal government regarding the redfish fishery as absurd and prohibitive.
Dozens of harvesters rallied outside the Barry Group plant in Curling, calling on Ottawa to change the rules to allow reasonable access to the stock.
Jason Spingle, secretary-treasurer of FFAW/Unifor, says Ottawa’s decision to allocate the majority of the quota to the draggers has left the inshore fleet struggling to survive.
Spingle says redfish in that zone are commonly found at depths of 120-140 fathoms, yet boats cannot fish at less than 164 fathoms of water.
The union says that effectively prevents them from accessing the resource that they can clearly see on sonar. He says six boats in the area have to tried to fish this week, spending thousands of dollars in fuel, only to return empty-handed.