Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for being here.
I have one question, but it has three parts.
The briefing document says professional groundfishers cannot understand why the scientists are so adamant despite repeated contestations from the fishers. The fishers base their reason for contesting on the lack of credibility given to them in the assessment methods used by DFO, despite the various observations and analysis.
When you extend that to say your advice is being gathered through landing statistics, phone interviews with fishermen, and your sentinel surveys, what I'd like to know is what weight is given to the fishers in finalizing your assessment? How extensive is the phone consultation that is done, and what is the type of data you're actually collecting? Third, is there any other data point, even from the fishers, that would give their estimates of biomass and would contradict DFO's?