The best way you could work with us is by being available for us to talk to. I have to say you are excellent. Any time I wanted to meet you, you'd make time for me. There were other MPs along the way. I was always friends with them and we talked civilly.
I am representing a bunch of fishermen who don't understand some of the stuff. They want to go fishing and to catch as much as they can. It doesn't work that way.
We heard Morley, who I know from meetings myself. Robert Courtney and I met him many times in our meetings. As he said, they did cut the crab down. We knew it shouldn't have gone down, but we can only argue so much. It went down and since then it picked up.
This year my boat was added and the stocks were excellent. There were times when we had 105 traps out for two licences. You're allowed a permit and a half, so we had 105 traps out. Sometimes with anywhere from 60 to 70 traps they'd be on their way in with 58,000 pounds, which is what my boat would hold. I have a wet well aboard there and we can carry 58,000 pounds in water. We'd be in and we'd catch all the boat in less than a day, so there are lots of crab there.
I'm not saying to put the quota up or anything else. I'm just saying that the fishery is helpful. In 4Vn, for the groundfishery, it started off with two of us going to meetings in Ottawa and Halifax. That was always Robert Courtney and me. Since he passed way, I'm pretty well the only one who goes to them now. I am president of our 4Vn sentinel fishery and I've been president pretty well...for a couple of years. Robert took it and gave me a break and I went to vice-president, but between me and him, I think we've been president ever since it started.
No one else wants to take it because you get too many fishermen growling at you if it's something they don't like. We have to do what we think is best and hope that the majority wants to go along with it and ask for it.
This year is a really bad year for halibut in our area. This is the worst year that I've ever seen yet. I don't know why. It's just that this year is bad for us, but other years were good. It may pick up before the year is out, but it doesn't really look like that.
There's one other spot I'd like to mention, In 4Vs, a big area of our halibut grounds was made into an MPA this year and taken away from us. We're not allowed to fish there anymore. The only reason I can see, personally, is—