First of all, I can't give you a specific answer on how much of a loss there was. We had a fairly stable year last year, relative to 2014. Our business is fairly diverse in that we do mail order on a variety of things, such as fishing tackle, to people who fish all over eastern Canada. There are a variety of factors there.
The one thing that I would say I noticed was certainly the costs that we sustained as a result of the double hook regulation. If you are asking me whether or not a total closure would be more costly than the current levels of restrictions, then yes.
However, the cost that I am concerned about here is not so much an economic one for the business. I am concerned about the cost to the river. As Mr. Hambrook pointed out earlier, when you lose or disengage any component of the fishery, the river suffers. It suffers the astute awareness; it suffers the involvement. This is the loss that is more serious.
If truth be known, the local fishery, the local resident component, is a very small part of my business, because they are such good fishermen that they really don't need exotic fishing equipment. Therefore, as a purveyor of fishing tackle...it creates the illusion of being productive. Many of these fishermen are so good they don't really need expensive stuff. Our business is derived from a broader base of the fishery, which is less affected by this.
My concern is more one as a Miramichier: the loss of contact, the loss of local involvement, the people I see as I move about the community who look at me and say, “We are simply not fishing; we are not going to do it.” Particularly, one of the things that struck me—and I am trying to be brief—is that a number of women have come up to me and said, “I want you to know how much my husband misses fishing this year, and how concerned I am about the fact that the one thing he used to do for relaxation, after coming home from a hard day's work in the woods or at the mill or wherever it might be...he can't do that anymore. He refuses to do that because the fun has been taken out of it for him.” It is not that people want to harvest a lot of meat; they simply want the option of making a free choice when they go to the river, without having it taken away from them.
The whole nature of that approach to the fishery has changed. That change is more a socio-economic and cultural thing than strictly an economic aspect.