Thank you. I will ask one of my staff to respond to your last question.
On the shrimp quota, of course we have to manage the fishery based on science, and it is concerning that the shrimp stocks seem to be shrinking. We had some cuts in area 7 last year and now we're seeing that the shrimp stock seems to be declining in area 6, so we will be having a conversation over the next week or two at DFO. I'll be getting a full briefing on the science.
I've talked to many of the stakeholders, and of course you know the history of this is, when the cod collapsed, the shrimp population ballooned, so the shrimp fishery was opened up to new participants. It is well documented in letters that went back and forth between groups, including the union, at the time when the decision was made to allow new entrants, that they would be allowed in based on the fact that they would be the first to go when the stocks declined.
The increase in the shrimp population was allotted on a 90-10 basis, so 90% of the increase in the shrimp quota went to create an inshore fishery, and 10% went to the existing offshore fishery.
So that's the essence of the LIFO policy. It is a very difficult decision, of course, because people have been in this industry now for a number of years. The bigger concern I guess is that the population is declining. Now we've had some discussions within the department and maybe science can give you something more accurate, but it does appear that when you have an increase in the cod stocks—what we're seeing now, those stocks seem to be rebounding—we have a decrease in the shrimp quota. So the issue is that, of course, fishermen cannot fish the cod and sell it for as much as they are currently receiving for shrimp or crab.
So there is a concern of what is happening there in the ecosystem, I can tell you that. We'll be making a decision on the shrimp quota in the next week or two.
My officials will respond to the St. Lawrence question.