As I just explained, it is a huge expense. For snow crab, the fee is $132.50 per tonne, and for shrimp it is $66.50 per tonne. We also have to factor in the 2% increase this year.
Since there were no funds from the federal government, we thought it was a very appropriate way to help fishers without the federal government having to dip into the public purse.
In this case, it is simply a matter of removing that expense, which would really help them. As you know, a fisher must produce a gross income of $40,000, $45,000, or even $50,000 to be able to pay that $25,000 bill.
In our opinion, that was a really easy support measure to implement. We still do not understand why the Department of Fisheries and Oceans refuses to proceed in this manner and instead went ahead with a $10,000 subsidy. Furthermore, shrimpers and crabbers are totally ineligible, given that they have already applied for the $40,000 subsidy.