This helps DFO broaden its sampling coverage and gives lobstermen a voice in the stock assessment process, he said. And when DFO announced in 1994 that it would no longer attempt to survey groundfish in an important area of the Bay of Fundy because its large vessels were losing too many nets on the especially rough bottom, fishermen in the Scotia-Fundy Mobile Gear Fishermen's Association offered to do it using their smaller, more maneuverable vessels. You have to live with what you find. A desire to manage their fishery at the community level has driven a group of Nova Scotia fishermen to launch community-level research projects, including recording data on their groundfish catches. Compensation gap Practical considerations are an important influence on a fisherman's decision about whether to participate in research.
Compensation varies from project to project.
Many fishermen who work on research projects volunteer at least some of their time for free. Proponents of increased collaboration say more money to pay fishermen has to be included in project funding as an incentive to give up precious fishing time to participate in research and meetings. It's a pity we can't pay them as consultants. We're asking fishermen to give that information because presumably it's going to help them in the long run. Funding for collaborative research has come from international coalitions such as the Gulf of Maine Council and the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, as well as from foundations, conservation groups, industry, and fishermen's associations.