The RSW vessel, refrigerated sea water, it's 10 years ago I built this one. Probably in fairness I was the second one to build a RSW boat in Newfoundland. In relation to the crab fishery, personally it's the only way to fish crab. It's a live product. They go down in two- to three-degree water, the same as the water they came out of. The advantage with a RSW vessel, besides the good quality, is the duration you can stay at sea. A regular boat may be three days fishing, using ice; you get back to the plant and get your stock processed. An RSW boat gives you the advantage of going out fishing four, five, or six days until your tanks are filled. That's why I built the RSW. Instead of making 20 trips per season to bring my IQs in, I can make 10 trips, cutting economics, cutting fuel, saving on time. So it's a big advantage.
DFO regulations, in my view.... I've been at this now almost 40 years. They tell you when to go fishing and how much to bring in. April you've got a trip limit, May you've got a different trip limit, and from the first of June and onwards you've got another different trip limit. One of our IQs is 25,000 per trip to 50,000 per week. Why not go out and bring in 50,000 in an RSW boat? Instead of making two trips, you'll make one trip. It's this kind of stuff.
DFO charges IQ fees. A few years ago we got $2.50 a pound for crab, and DFO charged x number of dollars. This year we're getting $1.35 per crab, but we're paying the same IQ fee that we paid when we got $2.50 for our crab. IQ fees should be based on the value of the product. Tomorrow we might be getting 50ยข for crab, but you're still paying the same IQ fee that you paid when you got $2.50 for your crab. With observers' fees it's the same thing; they don't fluctuate up and down with the value of your product.
All of these regulations are crippling us.