HAY RIVER - The president of the NWT Fishermen's Federation hopes a new vote on leaving or staying in the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation will be held before the end of the year.

Alex Richardson said the timing of the vote will be determined at the federation's annual general meeting, which is expected to be held sometime in November.

"We'll have our discussion then and we'll find out when we're going to do our vote," he said.

It would be the second formal vote by fishermen on the NWT's status in the marketing corporation.

In February, certificate-holders - owners and operators of fishing vessels on Great Slave Lake - voted 11 to seven to quit the federal marketing body.

However, at an Aug. 27 meeting in Hay River, 14 certificate-holders voted unanimously to stay with the corporation.

"It wasn't a legal vote. It was just like a petition," Richardson said of the August vote. "That's why we have to have another vote, but it was enough to put a hold on it."

After the Aug. 27 meeting, the federation wrote Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister Bob McLeod to ask the GNWT to stop any moves toward leaving the marketing corporation, and the government agreed.

Richardson hopes the upcoming vote will be open to all fishers, not just certificate-holders, adding voting eligibility will be discussed at the AGM.

There are 15 Class A certificate holders on Great Slave Lake and 29 Class B certificate-holders. Class A certificates are for vessels larger than 9,000 kg in gross weight.

This past summer, there were 40 fishers working out of Hay River on a dozen or so boats.

Fish exported out of the NWT must now go through the marketing corporation, which purchases fish, sells it and makes payments to fishers who have often been unhappy with the prices the corporation has been able to get for their fish.

Some fishermen are also dissatisfied with not being allowed to sell fish to outside markets, although they can sell privately within the NWT.

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