—on the boat, so whether they take it in a small boat or big boat is not going to matter.
To me, what's being forgotten is the safety issue. You said certain vessels will go a certain distance, and somebody now with a 39'11" could go to the edge of the 200-mile limit and fish their quota, depending on what they're fishing. Wouldn't it be safer for that person to be out in a 44'11" or a 65-footer and let the fisherman decide where he wants to fish? It's a business decision, his or her decision to go to a bigger vessel and invest that kind of money.
Somebody with a very small quota, yes, they're not going to invest in a 44-foot or a 65-foot vessel. For somebody who has obtained a large quota, whether it was through buying quotas or inheriting it from a father or grandfather, whatever, if they want to go and catch that quota and do it safely.... I'll use this example. In Nova Scotia, the base size for a vessel is 44'11". In Newfoundland it's 39'11".
The last review that was done, as you mentioned, was in 2007. At that time, the 34'11"s were allowed to go up to 39'11", and 39'11" went up to 44'11", and anything above that went up by 20 feet to a 65-foot. There was a huge jump there, and there was no consideration there for competition or that vessel being able to catch more fish than a 44-footer. He was allowed to go a full 20 feet bigger.
It seems like in Newfoundland, for some reason, they're kept back from making the proper investment, and once they go to that 44-foot vessel, it falls then under Transport Canada's CSA rules and regulations. It has to be inspected every four years and carry more safety gear.
As you know, we've had instances over the past couple of years when fishermen were forced to use smaller boats, and several of them did not return to the wharf. It happened in St. John's last year to three fishermen from the Shea Heights area. They had to go out in a smaller, open boat when they had a 35-foot boat tied to the wharf, and because of the regulations, they weren't allowed to use it.
It doesn't make sense for a fisherman to be dictated that they have to go in an unsafe vessel when they have a safe vessel tied to the wharf. It should be your decision if you want to burn that extra fuel to go a short distance to catch your quota. It just doesn't make sense.
Can you rationalize why it would be the case that you put fishermen in harm's way because of the regulations?