We're looking at vessel replacement in particular as a result of the initiative that was launched in May between the province of Newfoundland and the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. The premier was involved directly in that.
It's clear that this overcapacity in harvesting and overcapacity in processing in that area, along with the existing resources and how they're being used, are not going to be adequate to provide people with a reasonable living and to attract workers and prevent the out-migration of crews and other workers to other parts of Canada. So there needs to be some process to rationalize a number of vessels and to reduce the capacity, as well as to make better use of labour and better use of capital and to make jobs that attract people instead of convincing them to leave.
So we aren't concerned about looking at vessel replacement rules or about the possibility of consolidation of quotas on fewer enterprises. What we are concerned about--and that's being expressed by the fishers themselves--is the desire to maintain the independence of the inshore fleet. They don't want to become vertically integrated, through backdoor arrangements or through change of policy, with the processing companies. They want to remain independent businesses and not be employees of a processing operation.
So that's a concern we have to keep in mind when we go about any examination of how to change policies, how to change the way we deal with vessel replacement rules, and how to put the fishery on a stable basis in conjunction with the provinces, in that area and throughout Atlantic Canada.