Fisheries Committee on Nov. 21st, 2017

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Part of the act also talks about freezing the footprint, allowing activities that happened in the previous year, but that's all. As we move forward through the five-year process, should an area be closed to fishing, closed off to any harvest, and so on?

I'm just going to throw a hypothesis out there. We've heard of the exploding seal populations on the east coast and the possible negative impacts on the fisheries out there. Earlier we talked about higher levels of management being needed and so on.

Would that include all levels of management including predator control?

[Nikki Macdonald]

I'll let Mr. Wareham answer.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

I'd like both of you to answer.

[Nikki Macdonald]

I'm not qualified to answer about predator control. I'm sorry, that's not my area of research expertise.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

That would certainly be heavily impacted by Bill C-55.

Mr. Wareham.

[Bill Wareham]

I think in the context of closures for the purpose of establishing a protected area, I believe that in the act, as it's written, the proposal now is that the minister can choose to cap an activity at a current level. I think whether it goes beyond that should really be tested against what the objectives for that marine protected area are.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Okay.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I know everyone is rushing to get out of here. I will stop it there.

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

Thank you very much, sir. I appreciate that.

Mr. Wareham, thank you very much for joining us.

Ms. Macdonald, thank you again.

Unfortunately, we have to go vote. I thank you for your testimony. This meeting is adjourned.