First of all, thanks for the kind words.
I know who you mean. I know Rob Tryon. He's got Effing Seafoods.
Our family has two retail outlets and a lobster pound too. We buy as well, so the hustle's there.
Right now, the sense among the fishermen is that the programs are there, and in the way that was worded, they don't want to create new funds for us. We're not asking for new funds. We're just asking for modifications to what is already out there. It is frustrating that it has already come to this point on the calendar.
We were supposed to already be in the water at this point. We have missed a very important part of our season pre-Mother's Day on the Atlantic coast. In P.E.I. last year, we landed 39.9 million pounds. Around seven million of that was sold before Mother's Day. A big part of our lobster is caught and sold before now.
By missing out on that and not having access to capital, hired men are missing out on weeks of employment right now. Our boats are in the water. Our gear is on the wharf. Everything has been prepared and is ready to go. It is frustrating that it is getting to this point.
We'd like to have something announced so that everybody can make plans accordingly. At this point, when everybody is going to be set for the 15th, people are ordering bait tomorrow. It's that kind of thing. This is something that needs to happen quickly now.