Evidence of meeting #45 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was recreational.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:05 p.m.
Managing Director, Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association
I can respond to that first, if that's okay, Dr. Tufts.
12:05 p.m.
Professor and Fisheries Biologist, Freshwater Fisheries Conservation Lab, Queen's University, As an Individual
Absolutely.
12:05 p.m.
Managing Director, Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association
I was shocked by some of the research that came back from our independent research group. I didn't realize that more adult Canadians fish than play golf and hockey combined. I thought golf would supersede fishing in a heartbeat. Yes, I was shocked too. We all were, and we were elated, at the same time, to see the great statistics.
I hate to keep coming back to the money part, but that is one of the problems. We, as an association, are trying to promote recreational fishing on a shoestring budget of $50,000 to $60,000 a year. We receive millions of dollars of in-kind advertising, and we appreciate that, but wouldn't it be great if we had a budget of $10 million to spread the word about the benefits of recreational fishing? Wouldn't that be amazing, to drive these facts home to people?
I agree with you. I am sure you've heard a lot of groups maybe question those statistics, but we stand by them. I've been in ad agencies where I've held up our document, and the hardened marketing ad agency people couldn't get enough of this information. They had no idea how big recreational fishing is.
Again, it's a matter of spreading the word, and that takes dollars and cents.
12:05 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rodney Weston
Thank you very much, Mr. Leef.
Thank you, gentlemen, for taking this time to appear before our committee today, answer questions, and make presentations. We certainly do appreciate it. On behalf of the entire committee, I want to extend that thanks.
We'll suspend for a few moments until we set up our next witnesses.
12:05 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rodney Weston
I call this meeting back to order.
I'd like to welcome our guests here this afternoon. Thank you very much for joining us. I appreciate the time you've given to this committee today. As you are well aware, we are studying recreational fisheries in Canada.
We generally allow about 10 minutes per witness to make opening statements or deliver remarks, and then we move into questions from committee members.
With the time constraints on our members, I would ask that you keep your answers to their questions as concise as possible to allow them to get in as many questions as possible.
I am not sure who wants to go first, Mr. Huber or Mr. Smith. When you do, please identify yourself for the record, for Hansard.
I'll throw the floor to you first, Mr. Huber, if you want to make your opening comments. Whenever you are ready, the floor is yours.
12:05 p.m.
Robert Huber President, Thames River Anglers Association
Thank you very much. My name is Robert Huber. I'm the president of the Thames River Anglers Association here in London, Ontario, Canada.
First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for inviting us to participate in this committee session. Hopefully we have some ideas and some perspective that will help with the goals of this committee.
The Thames River Anglers Association itself was formed in 1986 as a hands-on environmental group made up of volunteers and governed by a formal constitution with bylaws. Every member of the Thames River anglers is active in their advocacy for the health of the Thames River itself, the watershed, and its inhabitants through a variety of fisheries-related projects and education.
It has been our experience that encouraging ecosystem-focused stewardship directly correlates to improving recreational fishing activities. Our motto is, ironically, “Dedication Today, for Tomorrow”.
In my planning for this, we took a close look at the economics of fisheries within southwestern Ontario, and there are some interesting things about it. The Ontario fisheries themselves are a very important part of our cultural history and contribute very substantially to the economy locally. Over 41,000 person-years of employment are driven through the industry itself. There are more than 1.2 million resident and non-resident anglers who contribute nearly $2.2 billion annually to the Ontario economy for fishing purposes. The driving force for Ontario's tourism industry and a key economic component in many communities is fishing, particularly in northern Ontario, where there are 1,600 licensed tour operators generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue annually. There are also 1,200 commercial bait-fishing licences that are issued annually, with $17 million in direct sales of live bait. These numbers are from the Ontario provincial fish strategy, titled “Fish for the Future”. That's where we got that data.
We built our perspective on this around what we call four pillars of improving fisheries. The first two pillars are habitat and protection of species. We feel that there needs to be a more authoritative oversight to both protect environmentally sensitive habitat and maintain and improve fisheries that attract tourism and provide cultural and/or recreational benefits to the community.
In particular, we'd like to see the provincial and federal governments take on more financial and legislative support that would be helpful to remove, for example, recreational dams and weirs that actually harm ecosystems, and evaluate and consider decommissioning others that do not serve a specific flood control or are no longer deemed cost-effective to taxpayers for hydroelectric generation.
The Thames River, where we base most of our work, is one of the most species-rich rivers in all of Ontario, with over 90 species of fish and many aquatic species that are listed as threatened, endangered, or of special concern. This includes 12 fish, six reptiles, and seven mussel species.
We have a dam here called Springbank Dam—not to be confused with the projects in Calgary—built back in the early 1900s. It served a historical recreational purpose to create a reservoir for rowing. It was repaired in the early 2000s using federal and provincial funds but failed the first time it was operated in 2008. Since that time it has been left open. The entire ecosystem has gone through a dramatic recovery, but currently there are plans to actually repair the dam and re-establish that impoundment, which in effect could threaten all that has actually been improved. For example, while the impoundment is in place—while the dam is operational—E. coli levels have been found to be over 55 times higher than the provincially acceptable levels within that reservoir that it creates. This is sourced through the Trout Unlimited Canada technical report that was published in April 2007.
The next part is what we consider our advocacy and how we work with different levels of government and other agencies. In 2008, as part of the ecological framework for recreational fisheries management, Ontario was divided into 20 fisheries management zones. The Ministry of Natural Resources also created regulatory specific tool kits for the 15 most popular species. As a result, each zone would establish an advisory council, create a fisheries management plan, and amend the fisheries regulations under the Fisheries Act based on the plan. This would then include monitoring and assessing the zone on a regular basis, then amending the plan to include management actions, if necessary, based on those results.
Our region is called fisheries management zone 16. Prior to 2008, when these changes were made, over 30 million walleye were caught in Ontario by anglers, making it the most targeted species of fish in the province. For some strange reason, we never had an advisory council formed for our region, which resulted in decisions being made without adequate stakeholder involvement. That resulted in both lost fishing opportunities and economic fallout. For example, the walleye season itself was closed each spring since 2008. A slot size base-limit system was put in place. This has had a very direct impact on both anglers and the businesses that are directly affected by that fisheries activity. No follow-up monitoring has been completed, and no species-specific tool kit was created for walleye even though they're the most popular fish that's targeted.
Any effort that can be made to follow through on these commitments would have a widespread benefit to southwestern Ontario's angling community along with the businesses that rely on those recreational opportunities.
Our last element is young anglers and education. We feel strongly that encouraging youth to learn and participate in fishing is a rewarding outdoor physical activity. It educates them and their parents on responsible stewardship practices. It cultivates our next generation of volunteers, business owners, and future legislators. It is one of the most absolutely certain ways that we can ensure future economic growth in the industry.
This can continue to improve through educational programs available to schools; continued support for community hatchery programs like our own; and environmental initiatives that encourage volunteer efforts such as river cleanups, Yellow Fish Road programs, and other programs that through a variety of media, including social media and events, demonstrate how angling connects us to each other along with the rivers and lands that are such an important part of our heritage as a country.
That's it.
12:15 p.m.
Conservative
12:20 p.m.
Dr. Darryl Smith Provincial Fish Chair, Alberta Fish and Game Association
Thank you very much.
My name is Dr. Darryl Smith. On behalf of the Alberta Fish and Game Association, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to present to the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans regarding recreational fishing in Canada.
My background is as a long-time angler, volunteer, and advocate for responsible resource and land use planning. I am currently the Alberta Fish and Game Association provincial fish chair. My home is in the Peace River region of northwestern Alberta.
As a bit of background, the Alberta Fish and Game Association is the largest and oldest conservation organization in Alberta. It represents more than 24,000 anglers, hunters, and conservationists. At our core is the sustainable use of both our fish and our wildlife and the protection of the habitat they require.
We believe there must be a change in the focus of the direction we're presently going in to manage our fishery resource, if we are to see improvements in recreational fishing opportunities. There are two primary reasons for this concern. The first is societal and is related to the changing attitudes and choices of Canadians in what is, I guess, an increasingly urban society. The second is our failure collectively to deal with the cumulative impacts on the environment from all use, whether from recreation, agriculture, industry, urban growth, or infrastructure needs.
In his 1998 report Rising to the challenge: A new policy for Canada's freshwater fisheries, Dr. Peter H. Pearse stated that he was concerned not just to correct the deficiencies of the past, but to suggest the kind of changes we should be making to provide for the needs of coming generations.
Many of the recommendations from the report have been enacted, particularly in the area of regulation, management, and allocation of the fishery resource. But today the real determinant in the health of fisheries is maintenance of the productivity of the aquatic ecosystem.
Alberta is really a study in progress, as nowhere else in Canada are we seeing so many changes or impacts occurring societally, economically, and environmentally at the same time. I've been fortunate to travel right across this country, including through the northern territories, and the changes here, this having been my home since I was born, are quite amazing.
Today the reality is that the vast majority of Canadians live in urban environments. Alberta is no different, with more than 80% of its citizens now taking up residence in urban centres. A utopian viewpoint has developed, in that many residents have a very limited understanding of what fuels the economy or even where food comes from.
From a fisheries perspective, Alberta faces challenges due to a complex web of circumstances that set it apart from the rest of Canada. This results in a high risk to sustainability for many fish species. Despite the risks, there is no indication that other jurisdictions would have made radically different choices to balance societal, economic, and environmental pressures if faced with the same circumstances.
Regulatory change aimed at the angler is only effective where the productive capacity within the ecosystem is not compromised. The use of catch and release regulations to allow for stock recovery comes with real concerns. It has become a panacea and a front-line action that delays or masks other long-term impacts that must be addressed beyond angling. In fact, in Alberta they're about to say “Let's close down the fisheries” without addressing the fact that we have coal mines, forestry, and oil and gas development on the same landscape. Without having places to fish, it will be a real problem.
Catch and release has another dimension in that it transitions angling into solely a pastime. As angling becomes diminished, we perpetuate the myth that the fish on our table come from the supermarket. Compounding this is that urban settings have many competing leisure and lifestyle activities. Access to angling opportunity in such settings is often extremely limited. The relevance of angling and participation in the future should be of great concern to all of us.
Fish populations continue to decline. In Alberta the listing of bull trout, westslope cutthroat trout, Athabasca rainbow trout, and Arctic grayling, as species that are either threatened or endangered, despite the fact that limited or no harvest regulations have existed on these species for up to 25 years, shows us that the necessary environmental stewardship across all government policies has not actually been effective. I guess the most disturbing thing is that numerous strategies and policies clearly show what the problems are, but we haven't fulfilled the actions necessary to achieve the objectives.
The vision of intensive and focused management where fish and their habitat are the priority across large geographical spaces that are simultaneously undergoing rapid change or development is an ideal, but it is really not based in reality. Trying to achieve this, as has been sort of the focus in Alberta, has led to the result that even most productive fisheries in this province are under threat. What I am proposing will be heresy to some in the scientific community who, like their urban counterparts, have become trapped in a utopian viewpoint.
What we're suggesting is that the focus must shift to the few remaining intact and productive aquatic ecosystems. This is not about orphaning other systems, because they will still be managed under the best practice philosophy of the past and the landscape approach. What it will ensure is that at least refuge populations are established as we rethink our approach to dealing with cumulative effects.
The policy and direction changes required to deal with cumulative effects include the following: develop watershed-based land use and water management plans; apply the highest level of protection to riparian and littoral zones; develop habitat banks; establish offsetting requirements for all developments, including even those that are a result of urban expansion; establish compensation programs for landowners to maintain habitat; provide effective and non-competing program management across all government agencies—DFO, provincial, municipalities, right across the board; and put a total emphasis and commitment on prevention of impacts, compliance monitoring, and remediation enforcement of current standards.
I don't think we see a problem with the standards that exist; it's just that we're not using those standards the way we should be. Essentially this means that habitat protection, restoration, and enhancement become a priority in the way we approach fisheries management in the future. The current model revolves around single-species action plans with little visibility when we have other competing priorities. Without healthy aquatic ecosystems that maintain their productivity, fish populations, whether naturalized or native, are at risk.
This brings us back to the area of relevance of angling in the future. Dr. Pearse in his report lists no fewer than nine recommendations to increase the public participation of anglers in fisheries management. In Alberta, the angling constituency has largely been shut out of playing a role. We must focus on our increasing urban demographics to ensure that people have access to fishing opportunity in their communities supported by policies and programs that preserve our angling heritage.
The decision-making process has become overly bureaucratic and often extends over multiple years. Anglers' viewpoints appear lost and of no importance. The frustration level among anglers is at a boiling point, particularly in this province. Anglers deserve to play a role in policy development and priority setting if we are serious about the future of our angling heritage.
It's not just about integrating policy across all levels of government; it's also about integrating the needs and priorities of anglers and fish into this policy. Essentially, without habitat that maintains its productivity there will be no fish or anglers. I ask you, are we prepared to make such a trade-off?
Thank you.
12:25 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rodney Weston
Thank you very much, Dr. Smith.
We'll go to a seven-minute round for questions, and we'll start off with Mr. Chisholm.
12:25 p.m.
NDP
Robert Chisholm NDP Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Gentlemen, thank you both for being here today to participate in this committee's discussion of the recreational fishery.
I want to ask you both a couple of questions, but I'll start with Mr. Smith.
I appreciate what you've said about the frustration of anglers in trying to get some action in some of those areas that you talked about, habitat protection and management and so on. But I'm sure they're feeling better now that the NDP government is in place in Alberta, and then, once we get in place in October federally, we'll be able to work together to solve those problems that you've outlined.
I'm being somewhat facetious, of course, but I do hear what you're saying about the problems around habitat management. I was interested in what you seemed to suggest, that instead of focusing on all of the rivers and streams and lakes and so on, there needed to be a greater focus on fewer ecosystems. I think you called them viable ecosystems. Is that what you were saying?
12:30 p.m.
Provincial Fish Chair, Alberta Fish and Game Association
Essentially; what I'm really concerned about is that our broad landscape approach, where we basically have a common set of rules, isn't effective, and that where our most productive ecosystems are, we're going to lose those as a result. Generally what's happened in fisheries management is that we go to where the problems are worse, rather than doing the very best on what we already have, and protecting it.
I think there are examples of that. I guess the Thames River is an example of a highly impacted system, but we still have systems here that, by just really good policy, we could save.
12:30 p.m.
NDP
Robert Chisholm NDP Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Okay. Thank you.
That question about how to focus becomes more of a priority as government.... DFO, for example, has cut back on a lot of its resources, both in terms of field people but also scientists and research enforcement people. That creates the compounding problem that you've identified.
Mr. Huber, I appreciated your presentation and what you had to say about the Thames River. I noticed that the first of your four pillars is habitat management. The principle you talked about is that if we don't have healthy fish habitat, we're not going to have any fish, and that's your priority. I'd like to ask you about your organization's relationship with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans as it relates to questions of assisting you on, or dealing with, habitat management issues and science.
12:30 p.m.
President, Thames River Anglers Association
You're absolutely correct; in a lot of the projects we take on, we don't start with stocking fish, we start with habitat restoration primarily. You can stock fish into any river system, but if the system can't sustain them then you're really creating a put-and-take fishery, which is not accomplishing a sustainable result.
That forces us, by nature, to have to work directly with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. It's an extensive process. It's one that's not, by nature, something that anglers learn to do. You really need to want to do this and actually have a commitment to improving things long term. You have to be looking 10 years in advance to take a system and make the type of changes that need to happen in order to re-establish or improve a fishery just on one river system. If you're not willing to commit that time to it, then it's not necessarily going to succeed.
12:35 p.m.
NDP
Robert Chisholm NDP Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
How does your organization accomplish that? The Department of Fisheries and Oceans, in the last two years, has developed this new program that allows partnerships with organizations like yours to do ecosystem restoration work. Have you been able to avail yourself of that funding?
12:35 p.m.
President, Thames River Anglers Association
Yes, we have. It was primarily managed through the province beforehand. Since that time they've deferred some of the management of those funding and grant opportunities to other agencies, like the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. In many cases, this has actually improved the process, where you have people who are more directly involved in fisheries management being more directly involved in decisions around funding and how it's going to be delivered. That's actually been a really positive improvement that we've seen. It's made it easier for other hatcheries and groups like ours to do projects.
From a habitat standpoint, there's still a lot of paperwork involved in order to do a project in an area, but that's something we're willing to do because we know that means that if somebody else has a major infrastructure project or an energy project or something else that requires them to go through environmental assessments and other processes, they're there for a reason, so we hold ourselves to the same standard we would expect everybody else to be held to.
12:35 p.m.
NDP
Robert Chisholm NDP Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Mr. Smith and Mr. Huber, if either one of you could make a recommendation to this committee about how the Department of Fisheries and Oceans could better support the recreational fishery or your organizations, what would that be?
Go ahead, Mr. Huber.
12:35 p.m.
President, Thames River Anglers Association
I think the better the communication is and the more consistency there is across all levels, from federal to provincial, and then working with groups like ours.... When there's consistency, it's very easy to get things done. At a policy level that's really important. I think we really need to be looking to the future and at how we're going to bridge this generational gap of who those next anglers will be.
I have two kids who love to fish. I eat the fish I catch. Every day I think about the fact that sometime down the road they'll be doing exactly what I'm doing; it will happen by nature.
12:35 p.m.
Provincial Fish Chair, Alberta Fish and Game Association
I think the biggest thing the federal government could do is simply get DFO back into the western provinces. Basically, there's very little footprint of the federal government in Alberta. That would be my number one recommendation. I would just say that.
In terms of the program the federal government has to support recreational angling, that is a positive. Obviously we'd like to see that expanded, and certainly we've leveraged those funds.
May 7th, 2015 / 12:35 p.m.
Conservative
Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Thanks very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, gentlemen, for being with us today.
We've been hearing some consistent reports from different areas of the country and we've been hearing some differences.
Mr. Smith, according to the information we have, there's been a fairly significant decline in licensed anglers in Alberta in the last few years, actually going from 14% to 6%, which is fairly significant. Do you have any idea what factors are playing a role in this decline? Why are the anglers participating less? Has contribution to the recreational fishing in Alberta declined proportionately? Is there a connection there? How do you see the federal government stimulating the anglers' participation?
12:40 p.m.
Provincial Fish Chair, Alberta Fish and Game Association
You're totally right. There has been a huge decline in the last 20 years, and that's despite the fact that the population has increased by over 1.5 million people. We used to have 350,000 licensed anglers. We have 250,000 today.
It's actually a multifactorial problem. The very limited amount of water here in the province is a factor. I alluded to the other issue about that real shift to urban. Everyone thinks we're a rural province. We're not a rural province.
How could the federal government help? I think it's really making sure that those fisheries that we do have maintain their productivity. That is the biggest focus. The focus of the habitat protection provisions of the Fisheries Act need to be forefront in how we go forward. That would be my biggest way to keep angling, because again, without habitat we're not going to be there.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
What does your group do when it comes to preserving habitat and conservation? What's your involvement?
