I don't know if the strike is still on, but, this prompted me to do my homework about the lobster fishery and my thoughts on the industry. First of all, this industry is very important to our communities and should be sustainable for future generations. The LFA 34 Management board in my mind (correct me if I'm wrong here) is run by DFO and does more harm than good for the fishermen and crew members. However, there is a new group in town to help save the industry called the 1688 Professional Lobster Fishermen Association (1688 comes from the number of fishing licences in LFA 33-34) and I hope it will be a success for years to come. There are some fishermen out there who still have boat payments and by going out to risk their lives for $3.25 a pound is almost equivalent to working for minimum wage and those fishermen with newer boats cannot make their boat payments, pay their crew a decent wage (making most crew members move away) or pay their fuel bill. A minimum price of $5.50 would be more like it. My hope is that all the fishermen unite, stick together and stay strong to get a fair price for their catch. For more on what the 1688 is all about, here's a link to the 1688 PLFA website and hopefully everyone would see by this link is a great association for both fishermen and crew alike.
The views expressed in this blog does not represent any one else's views other than myself
Support your local fishermen everybody!!
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