We heard from a fisherman that a family member had what's called a “core” licence in the groundfish, for cod in particular, and he is compelled to not use a boat any bigger than 28 feet long. To use his words, he said that “we actually tow that boat behind mine so that he can catch his quota when he gets out there and be safe”.
It seems a bit ridiculous that a fisherman.... Whether it's core or non-core, he's fishing the same as anybody else. He's fishing in the same waters, but because of regulations and policy he is.... I won't say he's condemned to a 28-foot boat because a lot of people use them, but he's kind of paralyzed in what he can do. He has to stay with that 28-foot boat. He is not allowed to go even as big as the 39 feet and 11 inches, which would be the limit that he could go to. Can anyone square that circle for me to show why it makes sense that somebody would be actually handcuffed when it comes to vessel size in that particular usage?