Thank you.
With almost 10,000 licence-holders and more than 600 processing and shipping companies spread over five provinces in six U.S. states, the lobster industry isn't anything, if not diverse. At the same time, lobster represents only $1 billion, or less than 0.5% of the international trade in fish and seafood. We need an organization that can guide the industry in this time of restructuring to make sure our products exceed the expectations of customers.
Fortunately, industry has just created such an organization in the lobster development council in the Atlantic lobster round table. In these tough times this organization will require support from governments to keep it up and running. We also have to improve the quality of product we deliver so that every lobster experience exceeds the customer's expectations. We aren't really doing a good job of that right now, and it shows in the prices we are getting of our version of champagne. We have to stop processing for inventory and process for the market.
Now, on the issue of eco-certification, traceability, and improved resource management, eco-certification and traceability are complex processes that are now being required by customers. It doesn't really matter what our feelings are about the different options for eco-certification. The customer has spoken, and they are required to do business in today's international seafood market. These programs aren't cheap and many aspects are well beyond what individual enterprises can afford. There will be a requirement for public support for these initiatives, just as we provide public support for other import and export products. Eco-certification is fundamentally an announcement of how good a job we are doing in managing our fisheries resource. No fishery has ever been certified without having to respond to specific conditions and to change the way they do things. Lobster will be no different. There is considerable improvement that we can make in managing our resource and improving the sustainability of the fishery, but it requires change, that is, change to DFO in the way it manages the resource and change within our provincial departments on how we manage on the processing and trade. We need to show leadership in this area if we are ever to exceed our customer expectations.
On the issue of industry rationalization, reorganization, and restructuring, this is so key and essential to when we get to the other side of the mountain, and that's where we want to get to. It has been said many times before about the fishery that there are too many boats chasing too few fish. We're not structured to get the best value from the limited resources that we have. We have to change many things we do, including what we fish, when we fish, how we fish, what we process, and how we get it to market. Simply buying out licences will not address the structural problems in the industry, but at some point overcapacity will have to be addressed, and there appear to be very few options that do not involve some form of government participation.
I know it's very difficult. We're sitting around here as ministers of fisheries in our respective provinces, and I know we have ministers and MPs from Canada. We know it's very difficult to make government decisions because as elected officials we want to make everyone happy. Unfortunately, we have a crystal clear opportunity here. It's not about making people...it's about making decisions that will allow the fish and seafood industry to be viable and to make a very positive contribution to our communities. It's no longer good enough for us to talk about sustainability or adapting to the market or ocean to plate. It's time that the changes we all know have to be made...we have to make them. I still look at it. I look at the industry. We see what's happening.
Over 70% of the gulf fish are fished before they get a chance to spawn even once. It should be clear to everyone that we need to increase the carapace size to strengthen the resource. We've talked about carapace size amongst us in the provinces, and I know there have been discussions at the federal level. We have to be harvesting what the market wants. We can't be in a situation where we're competing with the shrimp industry, with farm-raised jumbo shrimp. We're producing two- to three-ounce tails to go into the marketplace because all we're doing is trying to compete with an industry that's already doing a good job. We have to get our Cadillac out there. I think of lobster that's being harvested before it's had a chance to sexually mature. We're killing the goose that lays the golden egg here.
We talk about sustainable management, but we'd be hard-pressed right now, when we talk about certification, to find a lobster fishery presently, today, in Atlantic Canada that will meet the certification process. We have to get there. It's imperative; we have to get there.
We all understand that it's impossible to make everyone happy. It's a very difficult task, a daunting task, to make everyone happy here, but we have to start changing the way we manage the fishery. We have to go through the process of changing our provincial departments, and fishermen and processors are going to have to change the way they do things. DFO has to change the way it does things also.
Committee members, I appreciate the time. I know I'm getting clipped here, but I'll simply say we have to crystallize this opportunity. We have a tremendous opportunity to move the industry forward. Today, we have short-term challenges. We have short-term challenges that are happening right now, but what about tomorrow? What are we going to do when the markets close up?
Thank you.