Thank you, Mr. Chair.
For the purposes of this exercise, I will refer to the documentation available from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, or DFO.
I'll start by reminding the committee that in 2019, amendments were made to the Fisheries Act to provide a framework for the conservation and protection of fish and fish habitats. This was done in three ways: ensuring the protection of fish and fish habitats and integrating the tools needed to do so; providing certainty to industry, stakeholders and indigenous groups; and fostering the long-term sustainability of aquatic resources. I will come back to that a little later.
Following the survey conducted in 2015, Science Advisory Report 2016/047 on redfish stated the following:
The arrival of large Redfish cohorts will most likely have a significant impact on the ecosystem in the area, especially due to increased predation on small invertebrates and fish.
That same year, Science Advisory Report 2016/012 on shrimp mentioned a sharp increase in redfish bycatch in the shrimp fishery. Two years later, Science Advisory Report 2018/032 on redfish stated the following:
The massive increase in Redfish has important repercussions for the ecosystem. Increasing predation among other things is contributing to the Northen Shrimp decline in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Alarm bells were ringing so loudly, they could even be heard by the deaf.
After two more years of government inaction, Scientific Advisory Report 2020/019 revealed the following:
In the research survey in 2019, Redfish accounted for 90% of the total captured biomass as compared to 15% between 1995 and 2012. This relative biomass of Redfish is unprecedented and could have important ecological impacts on other species.
However, we hear nothing but radio silence from the Government of Canada.
What more can we say at this point? How can we sound the alarm on the impact of redfish on shrimp and other species?
Our valiant scientists raised the issue again in Research Document 2023/036:
Northern Shrimp consumption roughly quintupled between 2017 and 2021…reflecting the long‑term growth of the 2011‑2013 [redfish cohorts].
Meanwhile, these same scientists estimated that shrimp consumption by redfish totalled 213,000 tonnes in 2021, or 38 times the catch recorded by shrimpers in 2023, which was 5,500 tonnes.
For more than a decade, the industry, together with DFO scientists and managers, has taken a precautionary approach that was intended to ensure sustainable fishing of northern shrimp. Despite that, shrimpers in the St. Lawrence have practically nothing left to fish. Ironically, we learned last month that unit 1 redfish stocks were themselves at risk in the medium term, even before the commercial fishery was opened.
Since 2016, how has the Government of Canada discharged its responsibilities to ensure the protection of shrimp and other species, such as turbot, which is equally affected?
What measures have been put in place to promote the sustainability of these species?
How can the government claim that its January 26 redfish quota announcement provides a modicum of predictability for independent fishers and coastal communities in the St. Lawrence?
A number of industry stakeholders are ready to co‑operate on developing and integrating an ecosystem approach, one that supports integrated fisheries management in Canada, in a non-partisan way, for the benefit of fisheries resources and coastal communities.