It’s been a tough year for fishermen in northeastern New Brunswick with thousands of square kilometres closed in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to help protect the North Atlantic Right Whale.
The Maritime Fishermen’s Union has been upset by the lack of consultation from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans over the closures.
DFO spokesperson Sylvie Lapointe says the department understands the hardship and is trying to be as accommodating as possible.
Lapointe says DFO will be consulting with fishermen this fall about the measures taken to protect Right Whales in 2018 and get their views about possible adjustments for 2019.
Despite some objections from fishermen, DFO says the compliance rate in the industry has been good so far this year when fishing zones have been closed.
Recognizing the hardships facing fishermen, federal Fisheries and Oceans minister Dominic LeBlanc has proposed opening the lobster fishery in mid-September off northeastern New Brunswick but the union hasn’t yet agreed to it.
(DFO File Photo from July 2017)
