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BY BILL CLARKE

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NEW MILLS - Changes in herring fishing regulations have angered fishers in the East Restigouche area.

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Layne Godin

Bill Clarke/Tribune

A small group of fishers from East Restigouche demonstrated at the New Mills wharf on Saturday. They're angry about recent changes in herring fishing rules.

At noon on Saturday, a small but angry group of them gathered at the New Mills wharf to show their disgust with recent changes that they say will make it both dangerous and difficult to catch any herring this year.

Layne Godin, one of the fishers, said that with the new rules, they will have to take their catches either to Petit Rocher or New Mills. (The plan had been to use Petit Rocher and Dalhousie, but the Dalhousie wharf is closed for repairs.) He fishes out of Jacquet River using a small open boat. Godin said that driving the boat this far creates the strong possibility that it could be swamped if the bay is choppy. As well, parts of the bay where they have traditionally fished are now closed, meaning that they will have to go farther in order to fish.

"They should crack down on the bigger boats instead of picking on the guys with small skiffs," Godin said.

He and the others charged that the large boats set more nets than they are allowed to. As a result, those using smaller boats can catch fewer fish, since there is a quota on the amount that can be taken.

"The come from down below, Shippegan and Caraquet, plug the coast with nets, and when catches are down, they blame us," Godin said.

They also said that boats from Quebec come to the New Brunswick side of the bay, catch their fish and then return to sell them in Quebec, where there is no monitoring of herring catches.

Another complaint is that the larger boats were able to start fishing on April 1, when the season opened. Those using smaller boats were only able to start fishing toward the end of last week. They said that two-thirds of the quota had alreay been filled before they started, and the quota will be complete by the second week of May.

They complained that they were not consulted before the changes were made - changes they say were put in place after the season was already opened.

"It's not a free country anymore," Godin said. "It's a dictatorship."

They say that DFO has taken rights away from people who have fished here as long as anyone can remember, and their fathers and grandfathers before that.

Their message to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans was simple: "Let local people fish locally."