Fisheries Committee on April 23rd, 2015

[The Chair, Conservative, Rodney Weston]

Thank you, Ms. Murray.

[Jody Thomas]

The coast guard did have verification.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rodney Weston]

We'll move on now to our next questioner, Mr. Sopuck.

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB]

Thank you very much.

It's a pleasure to be here with you. I'm always impressed by the competence and professionalism of DFO's senior staff. That is not a hollow compliment. We meet with a lot of staff, and DFO senior staff are certainly right up there.

Unlike my colleague opposite, I'm more interested in results than in process. Of course, the method of the response to the oil spill—

[A voice]

[Inaudible—Editor]

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB]

I didn't speak when you spoke. I expect the same courtesy.

The response to the Marathassa incident is very important, but I'm actually interested in the results. I presume there were analyses conducted during and after the event. What were the actual environmental effects of that spill once the response was completed? Are there any lasting effects or have things been returned to a largely pristine condition?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Egmont, PE]

I'm going to ask the commissioner to respond to that, but I just want to say for this committee's information that all MPs were offered a briefing with the coast guard. Very few took the opportunity to sit down with the coast guard and listen to the facts of what actually happened in the Marathassa spill.

[Jody Thomas]

Thank you, Minister.

In terms of the ongoing situation in Vancouver harbour, the unified command that managed the spill has now been stood down, but the coast guard has created a project office to work with the Ministry of Environment, first nations, the city, and Environment Canada to do ongoing water monitoring. We will look at surface, mid-level water column, and the seabed to ensure there are no long-term or lasting impacts from the spill.

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB]

I know it's difficult to predict, but is the expectation that the area will be returned to its original condition?

[Jody Thomas]

Yes, that's absolutely the expectation. There is one beach left to open. The rest have been opened over the course of the last three days. We expect the last beach to be open today, but we're not guaranteeing that.

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB]

I think your cautious and, dare I say, conservative approach to doing this is the right approach.

To switch gears completely, we were very pleased to see the additional $10 million in each of three years for the recreational fisheries conservation partnerships program. When the program was initiated a couple of years ago, one of my concerns was the department's ability to manage such a wide-ranging and diverse program, with projects all across the country. I'm extremely pleased with what I saw, and I want to again put that on the record and commend the department for its very competent management of a very difficult program. I'm in touch with the user groups on a regular basis, and they are extremely pleased, not only with the program but with the relationships that they have built up with your regional staff.

Can you, Minister, or one or your staff, describe to us the results of the recreational fisheries conservation partnerships program to date and what you expect going forward?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Egmont, PE]

To date, of the $25 million that had been committed previous to this budget, $16 million had been committed to more than 280 projects across the country, varying from smaller to larger projects and from one partner to multiple partners in projects. All this funding is leveraging more funding and is a tremendous investment in our fisheries habitat.

It's well received by all the groups. We see more groups are forming because they see the opportunity to do something with fishways, and I have to commend you, Mr. Sopuck, for the work you have done and the support you've given for this program, because it is turning out to be very much a success.

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB]

I think again lots of people talk about fish habitat, but what I like about this particular program is that fish habitat is conserved, enhanced, and protected in conjunction with local groups that have a vested interest in those recreational fisheries. Of course, the benefits of that program go far beyond recreational fishing. Any time water quality and aquatic habitats are improved we all benefit.

I'd like to talk about the Atlantic salmon review task force that you initiated a few months ago. Can you elaborate on what the results are and what you see going forward? I'm very pleased with what I see; from what I hear the situation is a very important one. The resource is very important, but what have been some specific results to date and what do you see going forward?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Egmont, PE]

When the committee was formed I had a discussion with them, and they requested that action be taken sooner rather than later. I asked the committee if they were comfortable with bringing forward an interim report, which they did. We have implemented the recommendations in that interim report.

The committee is meeting in Newfoundland today I believe and they have one more meeting in Quebec. They're hearing from a number of groups and individuals. We're moving to the catch and release fishery in the gulf region. We have made some other changes as well as extending the bass fishery because they see bass as predators of salmon of course.

I look forward to their final report sometime over the next few months, so we can make further changes, because one of the things that we want to ensure is that anglers are not the only group that will be addressed. It's just one small piece of the puzzle.

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB]

I'll switch gears again to seals now. In the economic action plan 2015, something like over $5 million was allocated for the marketing of seal products internationally.

What is your vision for that program? What results do you see possibly being generated for the sealing communities of eastern Canada?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Egmont, PE]

As you know, as a government we've been rock solid in our support for the Canadian seal hunt. We continue to tell the truth about sealing and the affects that the seal population has on our marine ecosystems. We have science that certainly supports that.

The situation we have with the European Union is, of course, we said their ban on Canadian seal products was unfair. However, at the end of the day products from the indigenous seal hunt will find their way to European markets. This funding will help develop those markets, but will also help to develop new seal products as well, not just for the indigenous seal hunt but for all sealers.

We hope to develop new products and find markets for those new products.

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB]

At the environment committee, which I happen to sit on as well, we're doing a study of licensed hunting and trapping. Dion Dakins from the sealing committee of the Fur Institute of Canada was there and gave us a very fulsome explanation of the seal industry.

Further to that, where do you think we might see new markets and what seal products might be coming on the market over the next little while? Is research being done on the development of new products and other things?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Egmont, PE]

Yes, some research is being done. We're working with some companies. For example, seal oil has been seen as very rich in omega-3, so that has a value in the marketplace for health-conscious folks who seem to love seal oil.

There is also a market for meat. I'm told it takes some research to develop those meat products. They're sold locally within Newfoundland or within the Magdalen Islands, but we need to develop those products further in taking them to other markets.

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB]

Yes. One would think that with seal protein being of such high quality, the potential should be quite significant.

Switching gears to the west coast, 2010 and 2014 both had record sockeye salmon runs in the Fraser. Can we conclude from this that the system as a whole is capable of producing such large runs? To me, it's a measure of ecosystem health that those large runs actually occurred. The 2014 run was so large it almost overwhelmed the commercial fishery.

Can you or one of your staff speculate on that, Minister?

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Egmont, PE]

We have made a lot of investment in wild Pacific salmon. For example, we invest about $65 million in the wild salmon program in British Columbia, $20 million of that in the Fraser River stocks alone. We do a lot of work, a lot of investment. It's good to see healthy runs of fish come back. It certainly was good news for fishers in British Columbia.

I'll just ask if one of the staff here wants to add to that.

[Kevin Stringer]

Sure. Thanks.

Salmon is an extraordinary species on both coasts. It goes in cycles, right? Last year, as was just pointed out, was an extraordinary year. It was in fact one of the five largest returns for Fraser River sockeye, which is the big run. It's not the only big run, but it's the big run. It was one of the five largest returns since we started being confident of the numbers we were tracking from back in the fifties. It really was.

This year is not expected to be as big a run, but the fact that we continue to get those runs, the fact that we're estimating increases in a number of runs this year, the fact that sockeye on the Skeena River is likely to be up this year—we're seeing signs of health that give us some encouragement.

We remain concerned. We continue to make the investments to ensure that habitat, at-sea mortality, predation, and all those things are all being studied, but there are some positive signs.

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rodney Weston]

Thank you very much.

Before we proceed to our second round, we'll take a brief recess to change some seats around.

I apologize, Minister. I meant to thank you for your time with us today. Sorry; I just got a little ahead of myself. Thank you very much for being with us and for answering questions here today.

Certainly we look forward to the second hour with the officials.

Thank you.

[Gail Shea, Conservative, Egmont, PE]

Thank you very much for having me.

I'd just like to say to the committee members that I know we only have 10 minutes here to answer questions, but I am in question period every day, or my parliamentary secretary is.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rodney Weston]

I'd ask members to take their seats so we can proceed.

We'll start again with Mr. Muldoon, the assistant deputy minister.

Would you mind walking us through the main estimates before we start into the next round of questions?