fisherman Mr. Michael Barnes from the experimental lobster fishery, which gets underway today.

And he said he was hoping for an out-of-court resolution to a lawsuit taken out by Mr. Barnes against former Environment Minister the Hon. Ann Cartwright DeCouto.

"From the evidence that has been made available to me, I can well understand the position taken by the Fisheries Department,'' Mr. Simons said.

He said Government lawyers and Mr. Barnes' lawyer were meeting next week to try to resolve "the outstanding issues'', including the pending court case.

Mr. Simons said Government would not consider allowing Mr. Barnes to take part in the lobster fishery until the issues were cleared up.

He added he did not think it was unfair of Government to bar Mr. Barnes from the experiment even though he had never been convicted of a Fisheries offence.

"He has taken us to court and is suing the Minister,'' he said. "This is not a frivolous matter by any means. It is a very serious matter.'' Fisheries officials claim they have evidence Mr. Barnes had far more than his allotted fish pots on board his fishing boat prior to the pot ban.

But Mr. Barnes has claimed they belonged to a fisherman friend.

He said this week he had never been taken to court in relation to the allegation so it was unfair to blackball him.

He is suing Government for a $49,000 "ex-gratia'' payment he was promised for voluntarily turning in his fish pots after the 1990 ban. Mrs. Cartwright DeCouto had told him he was not getting the money because he was "not in good standing'', he said.

Mr. Barnes said he has struggled to make ends meet as a result of being denied a lobster licence.

The experimental lobster fishery is in its final year and Mr. Simons has said he expects it to become permanent since lobsters are plentiful in season and the lobster-only pots seem to be working.