Gabriel Guitard, a fisherman from the small community of Pointe-Verte roughly 30 kilometres northwest of Bathurst, said the drop in scallops is due to over-fishing. "In the last 10 years there was more fishermen than ever," said Guitard. "There's too many boats for the little area we have." The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has decided to suspend the scallop-fishing season for one season. Ernest Ferguson, department spokesman, said the department will monitor scallop levels in the region over the next year. "A decision was made to stop for a year. And then have a discussion with the union, with the fishermen in 2011 to see what should be done for next year," Ferguson said. Yvon Arseneau, another northern fisherman in Pointe-Verte, said he's pleased the federal fisheries department complied with the local request even if it didn't quite as far as originally proposed. "For once, I think [the Department of] Fisheries and Oceans listened to the fishermen and we're very happy with the decision," Arseneau said. "It seems like people there now are looking for the future of the fishery, and it's good." Read the CBC News story in full
