Fisheries committee  I am not an expert on buyback and rationalization programs. We have always been in favour of keeping our boats. In a way, we have already carried out some rationalization, but not through these programs. We did not receive funding that way. In any case, there were failures. A num

Fisheries committee  No, unfortunately. It may seem like an innovative idea in the static environment of the fisheries, but the fact remains that in some countries, these two departments have been merged. It has also been done in some of the provinces—for example, Prince Edward Island and Quebec. In

Fisheries committee  I am not talking about the FRCC; rather, I am talking about the council that represents the industrial fish processors in Canada.

Fisheries committee  The cost of an enterprise has gone from $25,000 in 1983 to $300,000, some 25 years later.

Fisheries committee  Do what you can to ensure that the little money set aside for the fisheries actually gets into the fishers' hand. Otherwise… Thank you.

Fisheries committee  If every province does its own thing, that is fine, because this is not an area of federal jurisdiction; however, at the federal level, there are certain prerequisites. First of all, the departments concerned must be merged—in other words, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Fis

Fisheries committee  In answer to your first question, I pointed out earlier that, for the other species, repatriation had been more harmful than anything else. As regards the lobster fishery, I will just reiterate that, because it is a sedentary species, we have been able to work in a satisfactory m

Fisheries committee  I would like to make a comment in response to what you said. In 25 years, I have noted just how totally disorganized the industry is. In Canada, the lobster industry is one of the most disorganized. If this industry was organized along the same lines as the dairy industry, it wou

Fisheries committee  Do you want solutions?

Fisheries committee  I believe we should be wary of solutions that people claim will save the industry. There are passing fads and we should be wary of them. At a given point in time, everyone starts using certain terms. When they go out of fashion, people invent new ones. This time, there is talk of

Fisheries committee  Of course, the impact is felt primarily on markets; however, in our case, it is the reverse. Our lobsters are more productive because their larvae drift to and enrich the northern part of Prince Edward Island, which leads people to believe that the resource is in better shape tha

Fisheries committee  I don't know whether this is the case in the other provinces, but here, there are very good assessments in terms of landings. Thanks to diving surveys and trawling, scientists have a good idea of what is on the seabed. We know what is going on. That may be open to debate, but I d

Fisheries committee  According to Fisheries and Oceans' scientific assessment models, we doubled egg production by increasing the legal minimum size, which is normal. I explained at the outset that females reach sexual maturity when their shell reaches a certain length. Our lobster did reach that len

Fisheries committee  In that respect, this is indeed a role the federal government plays in Quebec. And, it is something we follow closely. I was saying earlier that there had been failures in the management system, but in Quebec, the federal surveillance system is effective for Quebeckers. I don't k

Fisheries committee  In terms of egg production, it is only the increase in the legal minimum size.