Mr. Chair, unfortunately, the situation is at the point now where such a drastic measure has been taken that it will impact many families and fishers who rely on the snow crab. That might mean that we need intervention immediately to assist those who will suffer this year due to not having the resources they would normally get for their livelihood through catching their quota of snow crab.
We may need to look at other programs, whether it is employment assistance or other programs, but this is something that needs to be addressed now.
However, I would add that we need to look at other areas where there are co-management strategies. We need to look at the long term as well as the short term in order to solve this problem. We need to take those steps, which is difficult. We do need to withstand the pressure of always satisfying the needs of increasing numbers of catch and that is not always possible.
I think the fishers are reasonable. They will look at the allocation and at the science and they will come to a conclusion that will be beneficial for them in the long run. However, they do want involvement and input, which means there needs to be negotiation.