Thank you, Chairman Easter, for the opportunity for the Prince Edward Island Fishermen's Association to present to the Standing Committee on Finance this morning.
My name is Ian MacPherson. I'm the executive director of the PEIFA. Today I am joined by our association president, Mr. Craig Avery, who has over 40 years' experience in the fisheries for commercial lobster and various other species.
In terms of the mandate of the House of Commons Standing Order 83.1, we would like to expand on item two, which asks what federal actions would assist Canada's businesses to meet their expansion, innovation, and prosperity goals, and also on item three, which asks what identifying federal measures in rural and remote communities would encourage expansion and prosperity in serving domestic and international customers.
The Prince Edward Island Fishermen's Association represents the interests of 1,300 core fishers on Prince Edward Island. The association is dedicated to making positive changes in the fishery so that current and future generations can remain active and financially viable in the fishing sector for many years to come.
In Atlantic Canada, the owner-operator model, which works well in many countries around the world, is strong and effective. Organizations such as the PEIFA strongly support the continuation of this independent business model. Each of our captains has a significant financial investment in their fleets, which translates into a direct connection with our fishery and a desire to improve it.
Our fishery, along with agriculture and tourism, is one of the top three economic drivers of the Prince Edward Island economy. Our organization supports the diversification of export markets and has made this position recently known to the standing committee dealing with the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. In addition to market diversification, we also feel that the rationalization of licences is an effective way to increase the financial viability of fishing fleets in Atlantic Canada. Fleet rationalization will be the focus of our presentation today.
One of the most impactful and effective methods to improve our multiple-species fishery is the permanent retirement of licences, which allows those who want to exit the fishery the ability to do so in a dignified and planned manner.
The primary objectives of our proposed rationalization program are as follows: to enhance the sustainability of our multi-species resources; to add additional conservation measures to existing conservation programs; to ensure we have sustainable fisheries that can meet the demands of the global seafood markets; to ensure eco-certifications are obtained and maintained; to ensure effective fishing efforts are achieved; to create higher-income opportunities for those remaining in the fishery; and, to create and enhance existing jobs, particularly in coastal communities.
These goals are consistent with the recommendations of the Fisheries Resource Conservation Council, the FRCC, which stated that one of the main goals in improving various fisheries is the reduction of fleet numbers. The FRCC also recommended that the following outcomes be outcomes be sought through fleet reductions, and many of these initiatives have taken place or are planned in the near future: increasing the viability of the fleets; increased biological viability of the area; increased use of electronic monitoring and data collection; reduction of gear being fished; shorter fishing seasons; and finally, combining licences to reduce environmental footprints.
The PEIFA has been one of the leading organizations in Atlantic Canada in fleet reductions. For example, one of three lobster fishing areas on P.E.I., LFA 26A, has achieved the following results over the past five years: 33 lobster licences have been retired, at 300 traps per licence, and in addition, each individual fisher in this area also gave up an additional 28 traps per active licence. These two reductions resulted in over 19,800 traps being removed from the water.
These reductions were part of a detailed and comprehensive program that considered seven key components. These were: overcapacity in an area; core licence retirement; multi-species retirement; residual viability of the core fishing enterprise; location of the licence activity; fisher age; and, fisher health.
The reduction in traps and licences has increased catches for many harvesters and has increased their overall economic viability in a positive manner. Positive environmental impacts were also significant as a result of this rationalization program.
As noted above, the PEIFA has an effective, proven, and implementation-ready program that can be applied to other species. Now that the industry is trending in a positive direction, a joint PEIFA-Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada rationalization document has set priorities to also rationalize groundfish, herring, mackerel, and tuna licences.
This does not mean the lobster fleet rationalization has been completed. However, a focus on these additional species will achieve two goals: one, to bring the number of licences much more in line with available quota and, two, to further increase the economic viability of those captains remaining in the fishery. At present, many secondary fisheries only last several weeks or just a few days before the quota is caught by the large number of harvesters licensed in those fisheries. It is important to note that active participation may be as low as 30% of the eligible licence-holders in some of these fisheries.
Fleet rationalization will reduce operating costs and carbon footprints will be reduced significantly when trips result in increased catches and a reduction in the number of trips.
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