But we're delighted to be here today.
Honourable members of the committee, Chair, thank you for the invitation to appear before your committee today.
My name is Fabian Manning, and I am a senator from Newfoundland and Labrador. I currently chair the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. I am here today to speak about the main findings and recommendations emerging from two reports that the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans tabled on Arctic fisheries issues.
One report, tabled in 2009, is entitled, “Nunavut Marine Fisheries: Quotas and Harbours”. The other report was tabled in May 2010 and is entitled, “The Management of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada's Western Arctic”.
I am accompanied today by my colleague, Senator Dennis Glen Patterson. At the time the 2009 report was completed, I was a member of the committee. When the 2010 report was completed, Senator Patterson was co-chair of the committee, while I was still a member.
I understand that former senator William Rompkey was to appear before you today along with us but is unable to be here. Mr. Rompkey was chair of the Senate committee when these studies were completed. I would definitely suggest that he is a man with a wealth of knowledge in this industry. He chaired the committee in the Senate for many years. I would suggest that if you get the opportunity you invite him again to appear before you.
Senator Patterson and I hope that our collective memory will serve you well as we answer questions you may ask us concerning these reports.
Before going into some detail on each report, I would like to briefly remind committee members of some of the characteristics, challenges, and opportunities that are unique to the Arctic.
The Arctic, as you know, covers a vast region with many small communities living sparsely and remotely. Aboriginal peoples have traditionally occupied the region. They comprise 80% of the population in some communities. Aboriginal peoples want to preserve a way of life that is based on their traditions, culture, and their values. They want to partner in priority-setting, policy-making, and decision-making in relation to economic development and the preservation of the environment.
Climate change is having a disproportionate impact on the Arctic. The ice cover is reportedly becoming thinner, covering less of the circumpolar Arctic, and receding more quickly than previously believed possible. This has significant implications for the people and for the biodiversity of the Arctic. In addition, it has rendered parts of the region more accessible to natural resource development and to marine navigation, as in the case of the Northwest Passage.
Communities living in the Arctic face significant challenges in the promotion of economic and social development; however, the region offers great potential to develop commercial fisheries. Commercial fisheries are particularly important to residents of small communities in which income-earning opportunities are limited. Two important aspects to consider in the expansion of commercial fisheries in the Arctic are their isolation and the high cost of transporting products to southern markets.
Against this background, the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans initiated and concluded its study on Arctic fisheries. The overarching thrust of the recommendations contained in the two reports is that the expansion of sustainable commercial fisheries in the Arctic should be pursued to take advantage of emerging opportunities and to generate much-needed economic and social benefits, while at the same time be used as a means to demonstrate Canada's exercise of its sovereignty and jurisdiction.
The 2009 report on the Nunavut fisheries is based on public hearings held here in Ottawa, and in both Iqaluit and Pangnirtung, in Nunavut. It contains eight recommendations.
Some of these recommendations were acted upon, such as the building of a small craft harbour in Pangnirtung to foster the expansion of small boat community-based fishing in Nunavut.
The federal government also supports the recommendation that calls on Fisheries and Oceans Canada to continue to assign 100% of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization's division 0A turbot allocation to Nunavut until Nunavut has achieved a comparable level of access to adjacent marine resources.
Other recommendations include that DFO put in place a policy giving Nunavut stakeholders the right of first refusal to purchase, at a competitive rate, all fishery quotas in Nunavut's adjacent waters that are transferred or sold; and that DFO increase funding for exploratory research in Nunavut’s adjacent waters in order to gain knowledge of the stock of various species and to inform decision-making in the development of commercial fisheries.
Finally, the last recommendation underlines the need to monitor the effects that increased marine activity, particularly due to cruise ships visiting the area, could have on individual marine species and ecosystems. The report recommends an assessment of the impact of all vessel activity on whales and the development of protective management measures, such as vessel exclusion zones at certain times of the year.
The 2010 report on the western Arctic is based on public hearings held here in Ottawa, and in Yellowknife and Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. It makes 14 recommendations for sustainably developing both coastal and freshwater fisheries to the benefit of both the western Arctic region and Canada as a whole. As you may already know, some of these recommendations have been acted upon. One of them led to the creation in August 2010 of the Tarium Niryutait marine protected areas, an initiative to conserve and protect the biological resources in the Beaufort Sea and support the viability of a healthy population of beluga whales.
Another one relates to the moratorium on commercial fishing in the Beaufort Sea, which was implemented in 2011.
Some other recommendations include the establishment of an intergovernmental DFO-Nunavut working group to develop a strategy to expand the Arctic char fisheries in the territory. Commercial fishing for Arctic char represents an opportunity for economic growth and social development.
A comprehensive strategy to revitalize the commercial fishery on Great Slave Lake was another recommendation. The recommendation calls on DFO to collaborate with fishery stakeholders and territorial bodies to formulate and fund the strategy. A key element would be facilitating the entry of young aboriginal fishers to the industry.
Another recommendation calls on the federal government to provide the Fresh Fish Marketing Corporation, FFMC, with adequate assistance to upgrade equipment and modernize processing plant operations. The FFMC is the single-desk seller for freshwater commercial fish harvested in most of western Canada, and it provides access to domestic and international markets for small and isolated fishing communities.
The committee also recommended that commercial fisheries and economic development in the Arctic be underpinned by thorough research on the ecosystem to develop baseline data. Research should also be undertaken to determine the species of fish that have the potential for commercial development.
Finally, some recommendations address Canada-U.S. bilateral issues. One relates to the bycatch of Yukon River chinook salmon by U.S. pollock fishermen. Another one recommends the development of a complementary Canada-U.S. approach to ecosystem-based management in the Beaufort Sea.
To conclude my opening remarks, I would like to stress the Senate committee’s long interest in issues facing the Arctic. In 2010 we also tabled “Rising to the Arctic Challenge: Report on the Canadian Coast Guard”. This report describes the impact of increased international shipping traffic in the Northwest Passage and concludes that a stronger coast guard is needed to protect Canadian interests, and that more thought must be given to its future role in projecting Canada’s sovereignty in the region. Among other things, the committee recommended acquiring new heavy icebreakers capable of operating year-round in the Arctic Archipelago and on the extended continental shelf. It called on the coast guard to recruit Inuit whenever possible.
My colleague, Senator Patterson, has a few remarks to make, and then we'll be pleased to answer any of your questions.
Thank you.