When fishers are on the water, they can observe when the fish are close to our shores, throughout the year. That is one of the greatest benefits. This can also indicate the abundance of fish, and also gives us an idea when the fish will be leaving the shores.
Right now, we have no idea what is happening on the water, except for what we hear from fishers who are on the water fishing for other species. For instance, we heard that a fisher who went tuna fishing saw fish in his fishing territory. We observed the same thing during other fishing excursions. That is the case for herring in the fall and lobster fishing throughout the year.
We no longer have that source of information. If bait fishing for mackerel had at least been left open, that could have helped us, with minimal impact on the resource. That would have enabled us to have biologists on the water. As I said, having boats on the water gives the biologists a free platform.
The moratorium has deprived us of much of our ability to collect data.