Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning, everyone.
Members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to appear before you.
I first want to acknowledge that this meeting is taking place on the traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.
I would like to underscore that the illegal fishing of American eel elvers is of great concern to the CBSA, and I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the committee's study on this topic.
I will share with the committee the roles and responsibilities of the Canada Border Services Agency, or CBSA, as they relate to preventing the illegal elver fishery and the export of illegally caught elvers.
The CBSA plays a supporting role by verifying that other departmental requirements are met for fish and seafood imported into and exported from Canada, and by administering the Customs Act.
The CBSA works closely with departments and agencies, such as the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, to ensure, among other things, that fish, seafood and seafood products being imported to and exported from Canada are compliant with program legislation.
Upon identification of a specific shipment or commodity of concern by DFO, the CBSA works jointly with DFO to identify and intercept shipments to ensure compliance with all government regulations.
The CBSA is actively working to prevent the export of illegally caught elvers. There are currently no licences, permits or certificates prescribed in any OGD legislation that must be presented or verified at the border in order to export fish, including elvers, from Canada. The only exceptions are the endangered species controlled under the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act, which includes the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
In this respect, the CBSA assists Environment and Climate Change Canada with the administration and enforcement of these acts by ensuring that any shipments are accompanied by the required permits. Suspected non-compliant shipments are detained and referred to ECCC wildlife enforcement officers. The CBSA may also notify ECCC of wildlife taken in contravention of provincial laws, which is an offence under the act.
Currently, American eel elvers are not protected by CITES.
The CBSA collects statistical information on the export of certain fish and certain fishing catches through its electronic reporting requirements. This information is transmitted daily to Statistics Canada by way of electronic file transfers.
The CBSA works with ECCC wildlife enforcement and DFO officers on criminal investigations with a border nexus, such as smuggling activities.
The CBSA is also a member of the recently formed interdepartmental fish and seafood traceability task force, led by the DFO, which addresses, in part, illegal, unregulated and unreported fisheries.
Additionally, the DFO is currently developing regulations to impose the requirement of a licence to allow the export of elvers. This will provide the CBSA with enhanced authorities to intercept eels at the border.
We will continue to work with the DFO as it develops these regulations, and we will make sure that our border officers are trained and prepared to stop and seize illegal elver exports once these regulations come into force. The CBSA regularly updates directions to frontline officers to manage the handling, interdiction or release of high-risk goods.
As a final point, the CBSA is continuously working to improve not only our relationships with our partners, but also our collective intelligence and enforcement capabilities, our operations, our lessons learned and our successes.
That concludes my opening remarks. I'm happy to answer your questions.