Fisheries committee  I think we always have choices to make about where we direct resources, but we do have an effective complement of assets that we can deploy to provide coverage across the region. We make choices about how and when to deploy those based on our understanding of where there may be issues or trends that need addressing.

Fisheries committee  If you mean whether enforcement officers themselves have a misunderstanding of fishing rights, I don't think so. We have training programs that attempt to keep our fishery officers up to date. It is also a topic that is evolving. Rights can be defined through court cases that are in turn interpreted and implemented either through agreements we may make or through collaborative work with the nations themselves.

Fisheries committee  Maybe I'll offer a couple of thoughts. With respect to avoiding or preventing illegal fishing in the first place, one of the things I think is important, which we support across all of our fisheries, is a process through which we build management plans— which hopefully have understanding and, ideally, support within the fisheries being regulated by those plans—to prevent or mitigate the potential in the first place for what you're describing with regard to illegal fishing.

Fisheries committee  Thank you for the question. With respect to capacity, there are various assets in the region that we think support effective enforcement. As I was describing earlier, those include both overt forms of enforcement that are visible to people who may be harvesting, and covert forms, where we are not necessarily visible, but using other means to effectively collect information and be able to pursue cases that we think warrant further action.

Fisheries committee  I don't think I can speak to what was reported per se, without some specifics about the incident. However, I think the assets we have in place, and the enforcement resources are the things we would use to ensure the proper oversight and compliance.

Fisheries committee  We have a variety of enforcement and compliance activities and assets in the region that all support oversight and ensure compliance. Those range in from the high seas. You may have heard about our operation north Pacific guard, which Mr. Burns spoke to earlier. More into domestic waters, we have overflights monitoring fisheries.

Fisheries committee  I can take that question. This is something that the department has attempted to do in several fisheries in the past. The reason for that is that we have changed our management approaches and don't necessarily need restrictions on stacking or marriage, or, for that matter, vessel length, for the purposes we have used them in the past.

Fisheries committee  I can maybe offer a response. I think there are a few main themes I would mention. The first is that we do have a team within the region that works specifically with the PICFI program to support first nations and the way those licences are administered and delivered, etc. I think that's an important source of operational support that is worth mentioning.

Fisheries committee  I'll invite my colleague to respond to that.

Fisheries committee  I should be clear that the PSSI funding can support salmon restoration, rebuilding, etc., in both B.C. and the Yukon. I know that we have just gone through a round of reviewing project proposals that could support indigenous transformation, which I think would be particularly relevant in the Yukon.

Fisheries committee  As you alluded to, one of the things we're doing is attempting to collect better information about the socio-economics of the fishery. If you'll permit me, there are a few pieces here. It may take me a minute or two to get through them, but this has been an area where we have done a fair bit of work.

Fisheries committee  I've only read small sections of it that were relevant to fisheries, and I've received very short briefings on some of its key findings.

Fisheries committee  I don't know.

Fisheries committee  I'll begin, and then we'll invite my colleague Mr. Waddell to add more. As I mentioned, on the Pacific coast, historically, we have not had constraints in place that would limit the participation of corporations or foreign interests in the holding of commercial licences. There are two kinds of licences on the west coast: party-based licences and vessel-based licences.

Fisheries committee  In the context of these two licence types, there would be potentially multiple regulatory authorities implicated.