Members of the House of Assembly have unanimously supported a member statement by Fogo Island-Cape Freels MHA Jim McKenna seeking an extension to the seasonal food fishery.
He called on the provincial government to lobby federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson to extend the dates for the annual food fishery from three days a week to full weeks during the summer months.
“I’m asking the federal Minister of Fisheries, Joanne Thompson, who is from the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, to apply the right changes, as requested by the people of this province, treat the public of Newfoundland and Labrador with the same fairness and equality as the rest of Atlantic Canada.”
One after the other, members of the House of Assembly spoke passionately about their own time on the water and what the ability to catch a few cod means to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
MHA Mark Butt enjoying a day on the water (submitted photo)
Mark Butt of Twillingate perhaps said, “there’s nothing better than sitting there, sun coming down, flat calm…and you get a fish, a good sized one, and nothing better. I can’t describe the sound of the line going over the gunnels as you’re pulling up the fish.”
