I think that, where fisheries management is concerned, there are other ways of working than simply having someone make decisions from a central point and filter them down to the communities that depend on these fisheries. It seems to me we could show some imagination and find governance models that involve the communities. Let us be adult enough to think that our communities are capable of making the necessary choices when it comes to properly managing the fish stocks they depend on.
In terms of decentralization, my view is that Fisheries and Oceans Canada should be the custodian in charge of conserving the resource, not managing it. The Department should be providing advice on how to harvest the resource, but the sharing and management of the resource should be left to the communities. When I say the communities, I am talking about fishers and processors—the people who earn a living from the fishery.