Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.
My name is Ryan Cleary, president of the Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador, or FISH-NL, as we're known back home. I'm here with Merv Wiseman. He is one of the founders of FISH-NL. As mentioned, I'll be sharing some of my time with Mr. Wiseman.
I'll tell you a little bit about us. FISH-NL is a recognized union representing an estimated 3,000 inshore harvesters. We're not the official bargaining agent. FISH-NL is currently locked in a certification battle with FFAW-Unifor, the bargaining agent, to represent inshore harvesters. We've had an application for certification before the province's labour relations board for almost 15 months now. After almost 15 months, they're still trying to figure out how many actual fishermen and fisherwomen there are. But that's a story for another day.
Mr. Chair, having read the transcript of this committee's first meeting on vessel length policy, which made for some compelling reading, I saw that one of the more dominant themes was DFO consultation, or lack thereof. Mr. McDonald, the honourable member for Avalon, brought up consultation a number of times—I thank you for that, Mr. McDonald—and it's one of FISH-NL's and my central points today.
The first thing I want to make clear is that DFO in the Newfoundland and Labrador region has completely lost touch with inshore harvesters. I think the gentlemen here have made that clear. DFO does not have its finger on their pulse, and it has not had its finger on their pulse for decades. DFO acknowledged that point this past fall and winter, when it held a series of 20 face-to-face meetings with harvesters on every coast in Newfoundland and Labrador, the first such meetings in a generation. Fishermen in their sixties and seventies said they couldn't remember DFO ever holding such meetings. Instead, DFO has relied on the FFAW, the union, to speak for harvesters; only, most harvesters say the union is no longer their voice and hasn't been their voice for years. They say the union has lost its way. It's clear that DFO held the 20 meetings around Newfoundland and Labrador to reconnect with harvesters. FISH-NL recommends that such meetings be held on a continuous basis.
I also noted in the transcript from this committee's last meeting that one of the witnesses, Verna Docherty with DFO's maritime region, said that in the winter of 2017, her region undertook a licensing policy review whereby they sent an open invite to every single core licence-holder to attend open sessions on licensing policy. Such direct meetings between DFO and core licence-holders in Newfoundland and Labrador have never, ever taken place. FISH-NL recommends that in future they do take place.
Mr. Chair, inshore harvesters can no longer tell who is the manager—DFO or the FFAW. Who makes the rules? DFO must recreate and continuously strengthen a direct connection with inshore harvesters.
In terms of the policy on vessel length—more specifically, raising the length from 39 feet 11 inches to 44 feet 11 inches—the majority of the Newfoundland and Labrador harvesters I have connected with have no issue with such a policy change. In fact, they're for the policy change. They say that vessel length should be standardized across the east coast. They say that safety should be the primary consideration. Most are in favour of it.
At the same time, some harvesters in the over 45-foot fleet are against increasing existing vessel size, saying that bigger boats will create bigger appetites, and bigger will eventually want more. While the size of a boat doesn't factor into IQ fisheries, or “individual quota” fisheries, some harvesters say that allowing bigger boats will give them an advantage in competitive fisheries like mackerel—from what I can understand, there is only one competitive fishery, and that's mackerel—or fisheries that may be competitive in the future.
This all comes back to my point about consultation. FISH-NL recommends that when it comes to proposals for major policy change, DFO should consult directly, and as transparently and openly as possible, with inshore harvesters. FISH-NL would advise going so far as to create a ballot system so that harvesters themselves could vote on major policy changes.
When it comes to the variance in time frame for operator transfers, in Newfoundland and Labrador it's a year compared with one month in Nova Scotia and one day on the Conne River Indian reserve in southern Newfoundland. The transfers put Newfoundland and Labrador inshore harvesters at an economic disadvantage, and should be standardized across the regions.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'll pass it on to Mr. Wiseman.