Fisheries committee  There's scientific advice that was presented at the herring advisory meeting last week that is suggesting that the spring-spawning herring stock is slightly inside the critical zone, which will likely mean that there will be advice coming forward for us to look at a reduction in TAC on spring herring.

Fisheries committee  In a general sense, we'd be looking for opportunity for mitigation so that there could be a way forward to allow economic activity to occur, while at the same time protecting a species at risk. That would be the basis of engagement we'd have in this project, as we would with others.

Fisheries committee  Going back to Roch Huppé's presentations on main estimates, there are no reductions to the budgets for the salmon enhancement program. That's a program that is a mix of hatchery operations, semi-natural production, and a lot of collaborative work that's done with community-based organizations to produce salmon and to restore and protect their fish habitat.

Fisheries committee  First, science advice tells us that the herring that congregate south of the Magdalen Islands, at the edge of the St. Lawrence Channel, in area 4T, are a mix of fall-spawning herring, and that—

Fisheries committee  It's primarily a mix of fall-spawning herring. This will be the third year of the project. In 2010 this project was able to take primarily fall herring, with a very modest catch of spring-spawning herring, and the seiners used their allocations of spring herring to be able to account for those catches.

Fisheries committee  —is that the herring are congregating at lower depths of water. But the current integrated fisheries management plan in fact provides the authority to allow the use of a mid-water trawl in the herring fishery, so this year it's been decided to allow this project to proceed, all within the quotas assigned to the company, using a mid-water trawl, with the monitoring regime that we have in place in terms of observers and dockside monitors, in order that this company can see if they can harvest the herring they have the quotas to harvest in that area and within the sustainability imperatives that are important to us.

Fisheries committee  The quota for this project would be within the 5,000 tonnes that are assigned for the project, which is within the allocation that's provided to the Barry Group. There are no additional herring being provided to the seiner group, other than what is already provided for in the management plan.

Fisheries committee  That's another $1 billion.

Fisheries committee  The reports we've had on salmon returns this year indicate that escapement targets will be met in the Yukon River systems, and there has been the opportunity for some commercial, recreational, and aboriginal subsistence fishing on those stocks. It is a situation that is somewhat reflective of the situation throughout the range of salmon in British Columbia, where we're seeing returns within the those predicted for the cycles, albeit in some instances low compared to averages.

Fisheries committee  As you noted, the pilot project that was carried out this spring was focused on the prospect of the herring seiners being capable of fishing fall-spawning herring in the spring. In a pilot project in the previous year, they had some success in doing so. The allocation they had for fishing in the pilot counted against their quota for fall-spawners.

Fisheries committee  We have a program to support the divestiture of non-core commercial harbours and all recreational harbours, so that the program can focus on those harbours that are critical to supporting the commercial fishing industry. It would mean that all recreational harbours that remain in the department's portfolio--and we have certainly divested quite a number of them in Ontario--are candidates and available for divestiture.