Evidence of meeting #107 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was agreement.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:25 p.m.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you to our witnesses for being here.
Chief Frost, just to remind me, is your community on the Porcupine tributary?
4:25 p.m.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
You're saying that obviously you've noticed the fish returning are smaller, younger and not as plentiful. Are there measurements being done at the mouth of the Yukon River, that is, on the Alaska side at the Bering Sea? Do those same kinds of phenomena exhibit at the mouth of the river—the size of the fish, age of the fish and numbers of the fish? Are the decreases and conditions you've seen fairly even up and down the whole system?
4:25 p.m.
Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation
I would venture to say no. If you look at the mouth, there are plenty of salmon and other species coming in, so there are huge opportunities.
The fish are managed in zones. They're managed through five different zones in the state of Alaska. They're regulated up the tributary, and they come in, in abundance, at the mouth of the river.
There's a target to reach border escapement. They will fish and fish until they hit a specific zone and pass the sonar that detects that the numbers are dropping, and then they'll cut off the fishing. Oftentimes, it's in the headwaters, the zone that starts to head up to Canada, Eagle River being the last sonar on the Yukon River.
To your question, we're seeing plenty early on, but of late I think we've detected that the salmon are just not returning as they have historically.
4:25 p.m.
Liberal
4:25 p.m.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Okay. The new agreement is, what, a seven-year moratorium on fishing all up and down the river?
4:25 p.m.
Liberal
4:25 p.m.
Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation
I think that in itself is not going to make a significant difference. I think there's so much more that we have to do in terms of co-management, collaboration and really clearly coming up with a stock restoration plan. How are we going to restore the stocks through traditional natural wild stock genetics? The seven-year moratorium itself is not the answer.
4:25 p.m.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Mr. Gerberding, there is a Yukon-Alaska rebuilding plan in place. Is that correct?
4:25 p.m.
Chair, Yukon Salmon Sub-Committee
No, there isn't, but one is going to be developed.
The Yukon River Salmon Agreement, signed back in 2001, requires the parties to develop a rebuilding plan when stocks aren't meeting their escapement targets. That's happening now. The seven-year agreement that's being referenced requires the parties to develop a chinook rebuilding plan. That is not in place now.
I should add that, separately, there is a requirement in Canada now to develop a rebuilding plan. This is a domestic plan for chinook salmon, because the Yukon River salmon are in the process of being listed as a major species under the Fisheries Act and—
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Basically, until things get settled to the positive on the Alaska side of the border, anything we do upriver is going to be pretty darn limited in its effectiveness. Is that right?
4:30 p.m.
Chair, Yukon Salmon Sub-Committee
Well, yes, we can't do it alone. I think everybody has to work together. I think the Alaskans have certainly not been innocent, but I think they read the writing on the wall like all of us. They realize that we have to work together now, on both sides of the border, to save the salmon. We can't do it alone.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Chief Frost, you mentioned that the Porcupine River is basically pristine; you've not allowed development. Can you comment on the status of the habitat where it meets the Yukon River and through to the Bering Sea? Have there been challenges to habitat through the Alaska zone?
4:30 p.m.
Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation
Interestingly enough, as I sat on the Yukon River Panel, a question came up around mining and the impacts and effects of mining. If you do a Google search, all the evidence is there with respect to mining and the impacts and effects of the placer industry or quartz industry in the United States.
I would venture to say yes. In Yukon, we have the YESAA legislation, which puts in place some rules that apply to us. The United States may not have that.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ken McDonald
Thank you, Mr. Hardie.
That concludes our first hour of testimony with the witnesses, but the two witnesses who are here now are willing to stay for the next hour as well.
We're going to suspend for a moment to do a sound check with the new witness joining us for this last hour.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ken McDonald
Welcome back.
Welcome, Chief Frost and Mr. Gerberding. Thank you for staying on for an extra little while.
We'll also welcome, from the Fédération québécoise pour le saumon atlantique, Myriam Bergeron, director general and biologist.
Thank you for taking the time to appear today.
Ms. Bergeron, you will have five minutes or less for your opening statement. You have the floor.
4:30 p.m.
Myriam Bergeron Director General, Biologist, Fédération québécoise pour le saumon atlantique
Good afternoon. I'm happy to see everyone today.
I've been invited here to talk about Quebec's Atlantic salmon management model. It is a decentralized and asymmetrical management model that is primarily supported by non-profit organizations. It enables us to combine the economic benefits of Atlantic salmon fishing with salmon conservation. I think it's an inspiring model that all jurisdictions could learn from.
Under the model, the provincial government has an Atlantic salmon management plan based on scientific data that help determine the health of rivers. It then delegates the management of recreational fisheries to non-profit organizations throughout Quebec. This helps the organizations generate revenue, which is reinvested in protecting the area, and conserving and enhancing salmon habitats. It also helps the many organizations across Quebec that count salmon and collect samples, including DNA, to ensure sound management of the species. The entire network also helps support many activities that will build resilience to a changing climate. We know that caring for rivers also promotes healthier habitats and healthy ecosystem processes, and ensures the sustainability of drinking water sources and resilience to floods and other potential climate events.
This other management system could be used to implement various solutions in the Yukon and across Canada. In fact, the majority of stakeholders across the country who are involved in the sound management of Atlantic salmon and Pacific salmon are in contact. There is no doubt that the Canadian government has an extremely important role to play in supporting such a model, one based on decentralized decision-making and the participation of local people, first nations, fishers and a variety of organizations.
4:35 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ken McDonald
Thank you.
We'll now go to our first round of questioning.
Mr. Small, go ahead for six minutes or less.
April 30th, 2024 / 4:35 p.m.
Conservative
Clifford Small Conservative Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I have another question for Mr. Gerberding to start off.
Mr. Gerberding, you mentioned you're not in favour of hatcheries for salmon enhancement. We have a river in Newfoundland and Labrador, called the Exploits River, that at one point in the early 1990s had a fish population of 5,500. Now it's back to 30,000 or 40,000 a year. That's proof right there that enhancement works.
The technology is out there and is proven. Genetics are being used in the hatcheries, especially in British Columbia rivers, and it's very high tech. Do you think the hatcheries just simply failed on the Yukon River?