"Last year, Minister Taylor was a member of the all party fisheries committee that went to Ottawa to fight for a limited commercial fishery in the Gulf and in 2J3KL," said Mr. Reid. "We now find out that this minister has changed his mind and is only asking for a limited fishery in the Gulf. While this fishery is very important, why is this minister abandoning the people who rely on the fishery in 2J3KL. This is totally unacceptable.

"Is this minister going to stand up for the rights of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, or is he going to sit idly by and let Ottawa continue their inaction on our fishery. I expected this minister to be a loud advocate for the rights of those involved in our fishery. I am very disappointed that he is now backing down and is willing to accept no commercial fishery in 2J3KL. This minister was very vocal in Opposition, but it now seems he has lost his nerve to challenge Ottawa after becoming a member of government.

"I encourage Minister Taylor to re-think his current stance and lobby the federal government to establish a limited commercial fishery in 2J3KL. It is now time for this minister to put his continued talk into action. If he were truly committed to the people of this province, he would ensure that every attempt was made in an effort to establish this fishery."