A group formed to advocate for the rights of those involved in the annual food fishery has been unable to secure a meeting with federal minister Joanne Thompson.

Barry Fordham of the NL Food Fishers Committee says the minister has indicated that she’s open to meeting with groups and individuals about the future of the food fishery, but he claims she is continuing to “ignore” his committee’s attempts discuss changes to the seasonal fishery.

He says they want the fishery to be open daily from the Canada Day weekend to Thanksgiving and an increase to the personal daily limit from five to ten cod.

As it stands, the fishery is only open weekends through the summer months and a few weeks in the fall, meaning that some people may take unnecessary chances to catch a few cod for the table.

He claims people “feel the pressure to go out to get the fish because it’s a very important food staple to us, so we end up taking risks that we normally wouldn’t take….if we had more time, we can pick and choose our times…weather plays a very important part” in what they’re hoping to achieve.

The group also wants two months’ advance notice of season decisions, and a three-to-five year management plan to allow residents, rotational workers, ex-pats and tourists to plan accordingly.