Evidence of meeting #50 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 nova.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:35 a.m.
Conservative
June 2nd, 2015 / 11:35 a.m.
Conservative
Ryan Leef Conservative Yukon, YT
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to both our witnesses.
Mr. Fordham, I'm the member of Parliament for Yukon, about as far west from Newfoundland and Labrador as you can possibly get in this country, so forgive me for not being completely familiar with the regulations you deal with. I'll ask some questions around that just so that I and other members of the committee might have a full appreciation of some of the specific provincial and federal legislation that you work with.
Before I ask that, I was just wondering how many members of the Federation of Hunters and Anglers there are in Newfoundland and Labrador.
11:40 a.m.
Public Relations Officer, Newfoundland Federation of Hunters and Anglers
Our membership right now is not very high as we are a relatively new group starting up, Mr. Chairman. We are constantly looking for new members. However, we are a registered not-for-profit group. We want to see a fair and safer system for the recreational food fishery, so our membership may not be all that strong, but our voice certainly is.
11:40 a.m.
Conservative
Ryan Leef Conservative Yukon, YT
Fair enough. I know groups and organizations like yours are very important. As you say, a small group can be mighty in their sweat equity contributions and their personal financial investments. We've heard that from a number of witnesses right across the country, that even small groups can make a significant contribution to fisheries.
I know you spend a lot of time speaking about groundfisheries, which are clearly important for you. I'm wondering from a recreational point of view, are there any inland freshwater fisheries in your province that people pursue with species other than salmon in the ocean and the groundfisheries?
11:40 a.m.
Public Relations Officer, Newfoundland Federation of Hunters and Anglers
Mr. Chairman, in response to the member, indeed there are, sir. Here in Newfoundland and Labrador, we have a great inland fishery for such species as brook trout—trophy record brook trout—lake trout, pike, ouananiche, Atlantic salmon, etc.
Speaking about that issue, I feel that with respect to the inland waters, there should be more conservation measures and policing efforts, etc., established to keep better management and conservation measures in place.
11:40 a.m.
Conservative
Ryan Leef Conservative Yukon, YT
Has your group had any opportunity, or do you know of any group in your province, that has had the ability to utilize the recreational fisheries conservation partnerships program that our government introduced a couple of years ago? It's on the inland side.
11:40 a.m.
Public Relations Officer, Newfoundland Federation of Hunters and Anglers
Mr. Chairman, in response to the member, I can't speak for other groups. There are other groups here with fishing in particular, outdoor conservation groups, that have great integrity. I'm sure they would be aware of that and would be taking advantage of it, as I believe they already have.
11:40 a.m.
Conservative
Ryan Leef Conservative Yukon, YT
Great. Would you happen to know the number of annual licences sold in the province for the recreational piece, the inland fisheries? Do those licence sales just go into general provincial revenues, or is there any direct allocation back into the enhancement of inland fisheries conservation? I guess that would be a provincial decision, but we're just curious.
11:40 a.m.
Public Relations Officer, Newfoundland Federation of Hunters and Anglers
Mr. Chairman, in response to the member, as it stands here now, to the best of my knowledge, residents of this province of Newfoundland and Labrador do not require an inland fishing licence for such species as trout, etc. We do require a licence for Atlantic salmon fishing. Non-residents coming here require a non-resident licence for salmon, but they also require, to the best of my knowledge, a non-resident licence for trout fishing as well.
It would be great, sir, to agree that the moneys that go from here from the sale of licences go into conservation measures and future conservation efforts, but you probably know as well as I do that the money gets funnelled somewhere else never to be seen again. We would like to see more conservation measures and more money poured back into the conservation funds where they could do more good to enhance fishing for our future generations.
Thank you.
11:45 a.m.
Conservative
Ryan Leef Conservative Yukon, YT
That's a fair point.
When you were talking about the recreational food fisheries portion and about extended seasons and total allowable catch, does that total allowable catch and the season extensions and the licensing apply relatively equally to non-resident and resident anglers, or is there a difference between the two? I know there's a non-resident licence, and I would assume there's a different licence fee for that, but are non-residents subject to the same catch and possession limits as residents?
11:45 a.m.
Public Relations Officer, Newfoundland Federation of Hunters and Anglers
Mr. Chairman, in response to the member, to the best of my knowledge the licences themselves will be quite similar or the same, except it would say “non-resident” or “resident”. As for the regulations, sir, I haven't been a fishing guide now for a number of years. I used to know all the regulations, or most of them. Back in the day when I was a guide, sir, the non-resident, when I used to be a fisherman with outfitters in flying country, had the same retention and catch-and-release limit as residents did. If that has changed now, sir, I stand to be corrected, but that may still be the same for salmon fishing.
11:45 a.m.
Public Relations Officer, Newfoundland Federation of Hunters and Anglers
Mr. Chairman, in response to the member, for groundfish, sir, I'm not quite sure what that is. I don't think the non-resident requires a licence. Through my own knowledge and experience, I fished side by side with non-residents and they had the same bag limit as I had, which was five fish per day.
I cannot speak on behalf of the tourist boat operators, because I'm not quite sure what they have, although we do support their having a bit more of a quota because it is their business. It's what runs their business. It's what they earn their living at. Also, it provides economic fuel to the rest of the community where they are.
Thank you.
11:45 a.m.
Conservative
Ryan Leef Conservative Yukon, YT
That's a fair point. Thank you.
So I have a handle on the differentiation between catch and possession limits, if you catch and possess your allocation and you hit five a day and then there's a certain period you're allowed to have them in your possession, once you bring those fish back to your home and they are in your freezer, or salted, or processed in one way or another, is that still in your possession limit, or does that eliminate your possession and you could have more? How does that work in your province?
11:45 a.m.
Public Relations Officer, Newfoundland Federation of Hunters and Anglers
Sir, I imagine you're talking about the cod fishing now.
11:45 a.m.
Public Relations Officer, Newfoundland Federation of Hunters and Anglers
My limit is five fish per day with a total boat limit of 15 fish per day, which means that if there are four of us out, we can only catch 15 fish between the four of us. However, if I go out and catch my five fish and bring them in and process them to bring them home, I'm done for the day. I cannot go out again.
If I am the captain of the boat, we can go out and I could take you and your friend. That would be three of us. We could go out and catch 15 fish, five fish per person for the three of us. As captain of the boat, as I understand it, sir, I can go back in, process those fish and I could take out another two people with me, but I could only catch 10 fish now, five per person for each of those two people who weren't out already. I cannot catch my fish, five fish, over again, sir.
I hope that answers your question.
11:45 a.m.
Conservative
11:45 a.m.
Liberal
Lawrence MacAulay Liberal Cardigan, PE
Welcome, Mr. Fordham. It's a pleasure to have you at the committee.
On that item that allows you to catch five per day, what's the total limit for the season?
11:45 a.m.
Public Relations Officer, Newfoundland Federation of Hunters and Anglers
Mr. Chairman, my daily bag limit, sir, is five fish per day. If I get the five fish, I'm done for that day. I can go out the next day and get five fish. According to the regulations, there is no possession limit as such, as I understand it, sir. If I fished every day of the recreational food fishery season, I would have 160 fish, I believe.
11:50 a.m.
Public Relations Officer, Newfoundland Federation of Hunters and Anglers
Also, that would be legal for me to have.
11:50 a.m.
Liberal
Lawrence MacAulay Liberal Cardigan, PE
Legal to have, but I don't know if there are any statistics on how many of the fish are caught and sold. Is there any information, or are there any statistics, on how many fish you think are sold? My understanding is it's illegal to sell them.
11:50 a.m.
Public Relations Officer, Newfoundland Federation of Hunters and Anglers
Mr. Chair.
In response to the member, yes, sir, it is illegal to sell cod during the recreational food fishery. As for the stats, or if anything like that is going on, sir, I cannot say. I don't know from experience, and I don't think I'm the right person to answer that question.
Thank you.
