I don't mind.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen and distinguished guests. My name is Dave Johnson and I'm the president of the Old Perlican Harbour Authority. I'm also a fish harvester.
Old Perlican is located on the eastern shores of Trinity Bay and it has one of the finest safe harbours in the area. The history of Old Perlican has always been linked to the harbour and to the fishery, since the time of its first inhabitants. The primary activity within the town is centred on fishing and marine-related commerce.
After experiencing the economic downturn established by the cod moratorium, the harbour at Old Perlican is once again returning to its former prosperity, due largely to the shrimp and crab fisheries. The economic viability of this area will depend in part on how well Old Perlican develops and expands its fishing and processing.
In 1999, the number of fishing vessels using Old Perlican as a home port or a landing port was estimated to be 83. Out of the 83 vessels, 63 were under 45 feet, while there were only 20 over 45 feet. The landing total in 1999 of all species was only three million pounds.
A study done Harris & Associates Ltd. in 1999 stated that in order for the port of Old Perlican and the processing plants in the area to survive, major changes had to take place. These changes include the development of a tie-up area within the harbour but separate from the off-loading areas, the need to deepen the channel leading into the harbour as well as specific areas inside the harbour, and the need to provide adequate berthage and winter storage for the boats. Since this report was released in 1999, small craft harbours has spent approximately $6.7 million to improve the harbour at Old Perlican in order to accommodate the changes in the fishing industry. A lot of the changes suggested by the Harris report have been done, some of the changes will be completed in 2008, and other changes will require funding in the future.
During the 2007 season, a total of 17 million pounds of raw material was landed on the wharf in Old Perlican, as compared to three million pounds in 1999--an increase of 14 million pounds in only eight years.
Out of the 180 vessels that used Old Perlican as a home port or a landing port in 2007, 98 vessels were under 45 feet, as compared to 63 in 1992; 82 vessels ranged from 46 feet to 92 feet, as compared to 20 in 1999.
The three processing plants in Old Perlican currently employ approximately 675 to 700 people on a seasonal basis from all over Newfoundland and Labrador. I'd also like to state that in 2007 Quin-Sea Fisheries processed 24.7 million pounds of raw material. Also, I estimate that Quinlan Brothers Ltd., which uses pelagics--cod, herring, mackerel--processed another 10 million pounds, approximately. There was fish also trucked in.
It is important to realize that if funding were not available from small craft harbours to do these improvements to the Old Perlican harbour, the town of Old Perlican would be another community looking to the federal government for make-work projects, seeing a diminishing population instead of being the prosperous community it is today.
I'd also like to state that last year we had nine people move to Old Perlican for three to four months from Nipper's Harbour--to work. So it's soiree of P.E.I. There's a lot of work being created.
As well, infrastructure that has been done in Old Perlican stays in Old Perlican. It's not washed away; it wears out. I've never seen anything...and we've had storms, believe you me.
We have a list of fish buyers located at Old Perlican: Quinlan Brothers Ltd., Quin-Sea Fisheries Ltd., Ocean Choice International Inc., P. Janes and Sons Ltd., Independent Fish Harvesters Inc., Green Seafoods Ltd., and Woodman Sea Products.
We have a community listing for boats using Old Perlican as a landing port: the Northern Peninsula from Port Saunders to St. Anthony, the Baie Verte Peninsula from La Scie to Nipper's Harbour, Fogo Island to Seldom, Catalina in the Bonavista peninsula, and the Avalon Peninsula from Dildo to Renews.
Old Perlican is the harbour name, but in reality we're servicing half the island. This is all black on white. The documentation is with DFO. And Gary can attest to these numbers.
Thank you.