Lots of people in Newfoundland and Labrador fought for and continue to bitch about the recreational cod fishery.
They bitch because they cannot fish anytime they like. They bitch because other people in other parts of Canada don’t have the same restrictions on their recreational fishery.
Well, take a look at another place on the eastern seaboard where marine species are under heavy pressure both from commercial fishermen and, as it turns out, the recreational types as well.
In Massachusetts, the land once run by Mitt Romney, you can fish for cod, but the rules vary depending on what part of the state you are in. Holy crap.
Imagine if the people in Placentia Bay had different rules for the cod fishery than the crowd on the northeast coast. How could they bitch about mainlanders getting treated better then?
Yeah well, while you are thinking about that, think about how strange it is that no one wants to have a recreational fishery for other species like say lobster.
In Ex-Romney Land, a resident of the Commonwealth can get a license for $40 that entitles the holder to set up to 10 pots and take up to 15 lobsters per day for his or her own personal use. The one big restriction is that the permit holder cannot sell them.
Just imagine how fast heads would explode down at the FFAW if someone started agitating for a food fishery for lobsters.
$40 for 15 lobsters a day. That sounds like a pretty good deal.
Who else wants to start pressuring Ottawa for a recreational lobster and crab fishery?
-srbp-