Oh! Oh!
Evidence of meeting #15 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was industry.
Evidence of meeting #15 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was industry.
11:55 a.m.
Voices
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Noon
Conservative
Randy Kamp Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC
Thank you for that advice.
Can I ask you about these log books? What are you logging? Does the guy or gal on the water keep a log book, as they do in some fisheries, to record the number of lobsters they catch in a particular hour, on a particular day?
Noon
Coordinator, Eastern Shore Fishermen's Protection Association
No, this one is for ourselves. This isn't the DFO one. We keep track of how many berried, because apparently this is important. I got a scientist to sit down and help me form this log book. We want to know what this v-notch program is really doing for us, and in order to know that, you have to know how many of the v-notch you are catching.
Apparently the scientists do little calculations. If they can find out how many of the v-notch are berried compared to the normal v-notch--the v-notch berried has an extra lot of eggs that are in the water because you put it back. So they will give you credit and say, “Because you put x number back, and there are so many more eggs out there, you now have this.”
Also, a lot of fishermen are interested in the movement. We tagged--what did I tell you?--thirty-odd thousand. Fishermen are very interested. They did not want the v-notch because, well, “It might go over there. Why am I going to v-notch lobsters when that can only help them?” They were also scared that the v-notch was going to kill the lobster.
We moved it ahead and said, “Okay, we'll tag them.” To our surprise, we found out they do live. I still have 2001s. They went as far as 666 kilometres, right down on top of Georges. That's our farthest one away so far. New Hampshire fishermen down there send back the information, and it's awesome how far they can actually travel. They're healthy. Let's put it that way.
They tracked the movement. It's very interesting to the fishermen as well. This is what is in our log book. This is what I report to them every year on.
Noon
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rodney Weston
Thank you very much.
Ladies, on behalf of the committee, I would like to thank you for taking the time in travelling to meet with us here today. It's very much appreciated. We certainly do appreciate the advice and the recommendations you've made. I will have to agree with my colleague--you are fine ladies, and we appreciate that.
Mr. Stoffer would like to make a comment.
Noon
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
I have just a slight point of order, to put it on the record for my colleague, Mr. Kerr, my Newfoundland and P.E.I. friends, and Mr. Blais from the Magdalen Islands, that you were under no coercion, there was no enticement, and there had been no prior discussion when you just let it slip out that the finest hard-shell lobsters come from the eastern shore.
Noon
Voices
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Noon
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rodney Weston
I would have to question his need to feel it was necessary to put that on the record and also that there was no coercion.
We will break for one hour for lunch and then resume.
Thank you.