If you are a lobster fisherman, and haven’t yet applied under the Short Term Transitional Measures program, you should do so soon. The deadline to apply for the $5,000 assistance is January 31, 2010. To get the application form, go here:

http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/peches-fisheries/fish-ren-peche/lobster-homard/sttm-application-mtct-eng.htm

To read more about this program from my previous posts, click here and here.

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There has been a lot of feedback in the last couple of weeks over the $5,000 lobster fishermen assistance program, officially known as the Short Term Transitional Measures.  It seems that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has been turning down a number of fishermen that should be eligible, stating that they have not experienced a decline of 25% over last year.

If you feel that you have been incorrectly denied, by all means send in an appeal.  In some areas it appears that DFO may be using some inaccurate pricing statistics, which skewers the calculations.  In your appeal you will be given the chance to provide them with your correct pricing and weights.  In your denial letter you will find DFO’s contact information.

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A bit more information on that $5,000 lobster fishermen support payment:  the application process is surprisingly simple.   The application form doesn’t even ask for any financial information, leading some people to ask where the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is going to get their financial data from.  The answer is that they already have all the fishermen’s catch data.  DFO collects lobster landing data during lobster season, and apparently they have each fisherman’s catches summarized already.  So they can just compare your catch from this year to last year’s, to see if your landings have decreased enough to qualify.  This is what I was told by a representative from DFO.  Personally, if I was told I didn’t qualify, I would ask to see their data to make sure it jived with my own data.

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It’s no surprise to anybody in the Maritimes that this year’s lobster season was a mess.  Super low prices paid to the fishermen, combined with so-so catches, resulted in some substantial financial pain for fishermen.  So it was welcome news in June when the Federal department of Fisheries and Oceans announced that they were going to help the fishermen.

And now, finally, we have some real numbers.  The maximum assistance to each fisherman will be $5,000.  To qualify for any assistance, you must have:

• Held a valid lobster license in both 2008 and 2009.
• Earned income from lobster fishing in both years.
• Had gross earnings from lobster landings of an amount equal to or less than $50,000 in 2009.
• Experienced a drop of at least 25% in lobster sales between 2008 and 2009.
• Be lobster dependent (lobster catch must be at least 50% of the total value of your landed value in 2008, AND your gross value of lobster landings must have been at least $2,500 in 2009.)

If you meet all these requirements, fill out the form found at the following web address.

http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/peches-fisheries/fish-ren-peche/lobster-homard/sttm-application-mtct-eng.htm

The official name for this assistance program is the Short-Term Transitional Measures assistance.

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