In the past we would put charter bids out in November. Successful vessels would be decided by the association and DFO to make sure they were the appropriate people and they had a trained crew. They would bid on the charter in terms of pounds of crab that they would accept. They were allowed to harvest crab during the closure under a scientific licence to pay for the charter. It was a workable system. Not every fisherman agreed with it, but it was considered acceptable.
Obviously we cannot use the resource now. If they go out and test in May, they have to take it out of their own pockets. If we miss that season, that's not just money out of the crab fishermen's pockets; there are fish plants in Masset and shore workers in Prince Rupert. As we know, when the fishermen are making money it's not just profit to a few of them; it benefits the economy. It benefits the federal crown. The government gets most of it back.