Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the witnesses.
My riding is St. John's South—Mount Pearl in Newfoundland and Labrador. I've seen a lot of changes in the salmon fishery, both the recreational fishery and the commercial fishery, in my 25 years as a journalist and as a member of Parliament. Back in 1991 when they introduced a moratorium on commercial fishing of Atlantic salmon, we thought that would be the start of a return of the salmon stock. That did not happen. The most recent news in Newfoundland and Labrador is a story, just this week, about a catch-and-release policy being implemented for Newfoundland and Labrador rivers similar to what's going on in places like New Brunswick, which is unheard of in Newfoundland and Labrador. We've never had that before. We understand, as you just outlined, that the salmon are not coming back from the sea. I'm sure as you just outlined there's an impact on the fishing in the Saint-Pierre corridor off southern Newfoundland. There's an impact, as you outlined, with 58 tonnes being caught in Greenland plus probably another 10 tonnes poached. Then on top of that you have the Greenland and the aboriginal harvest as well.
We are federal members of Parliament, Mr. Cusson, as you know. One of my big concerns here is whether or not...and you outlined a number of concerns from a federal perspective in terms of Canadian rivers not being monitored. Fewer than 10% of rivers are being monitored. DFO's budget has been cut in half, I thought you said. You also mentioned that we need more enforcement. You talked about an independent review or an action plan funded.
My specific question has to do with the role of the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans in doing all it can do to ensure that our Atlantic salmon stocks are where they should be. Can you elaborate on that? I know that a few years ago there was the Cohen Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River. We've had a disappearance of Atlantic salmon in east coast rivers for decades. Some problems are known, as you've outlined, but nothing's being done to address them. My specific question has to do with the federal government and what it can be doing more of to make sure our Atlantic salmon stocks are where they need to be.