Mr. Chair, honourable members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to address you today regarding the northern cod commercial fishery. I'm here today representing over 13,000 commercial fish harvesters and processing plant workers.
I thank the committee for highlighting the urgent nature of the northern cod decision and the fact that the June decision made by current Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Diane Lebouthillier threatens the continued rebuilding of our historic cod stock, as well as the continued economic sustainability of coastal Newfoundland and Labrador.
For over 500 years, northern cod has been the lifeblood of our coastal communities. Our union is deeply invested in the sustainable management and future viability of this critical resource. Since the moratorium in 1992, our members have worked tirelessly as stewards of this stock. Through collaborative science initiatives, a commitment to sustainable fishing practices and participation in the stewardship fishery, we have seen the spawning stock biomass grow from less than 10,000 tonnes to nearly 400,000 tonnes today. That's a remarkable, 40-fold increase. This growth has allowed the stock to move from the critical to the cautious zone in 2024.
While this is certainly positive news, we must not repeat the mistakes of the past. The decision to reopen the commercial fishery with a 6% allocation to offshore draggers is deeply concerning. It threatens to undermine decades of rebuilding efforts.
Let me be clear: FFAW-Unifor vehemently opposes any offshore trawling activity on this stock. Targeting dense pre-spawning and spawning aggregations during winter months poses an unacceptable risk to continued recovery. Our position on access and allocation, of course, remains unchanged. We stand firm in our conviction that the first 115,000 metric tons of northern cod must be exclusively allocated to the inshore sector and indigenous groups of our province. This is not merely our position but a long-standing commitment of the federal government, as evidenced in the briefing note provided to your honourable members.
This commitment dates to the late 1970s. It's been consistently upheld by successive governments. It recognizes the critical importance of the northern cod fishery to our coastal communities and the inshore fleet's reliance on this adjacent resource. The commitment also recognizes the crisis that resulted from the moratorium, the voices of inshore harvesters who were ignored in the years leading to the collapse and the hundreds of communities in our province that were left irreparably devastated by the consequences.
The inshore sector has demonstrated tremendous capacity to harvest northern cod. In 2023, our members landed 70% of the 12,999-tonne maximum allowable harvest in just four weeks. This was achieved while adhering to stringent conservation measures and weekly landing limits. From 2023 to 2024, the total allowable catch for northern cod increased by 6,000 tonnes, yet our inshore members received just 2,000 tonnes of this increase. These are the same harvesters who have acted as stewards of this resource for the last 32 years. Seeing the status of northern cod move from the critical to the cautious zone is a result of their hard work and dedication, but seeing a return to the dragger fishery is a slap in the face to our inshore harvesters and our plant workers and a symbol of great disconnect between the sitting government and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Introducing new offshore capacity is unnecessary and harmful to the economic sustainability of our owner-operator fleet and to the land-based processing workers. This season, we harvested 75% of the inshore allocation in four weeks. Our harvesters have the capacity to land a significant volume of high-quality fish, providing frozen product year-round without targeting these vulnerable spawning aggregations.
We urge this committee to recognize the economic importance of this fishery. Owner-operator harvesters are genuinely stewards of the resource. They take the long-term sustainability of this fishery very seriously, having lived through the moratorium. They've invested heavily in sustainable gear and quality handling techniques and have participated in a fisheries improvement project that recently received an “A” rating from international NGOs.
As we look to the future, we call on government to take several critical actions.
First, immediately revert the management plan for 2J3KL northern cod to a stewardship fishery model and rescind the access of domestic and international offshore dragger fleets.
Second, uphold the 115,000 metric ton commitment for exclusive priority allocation to Newfoundland and Labrador inshore harvesters and indigenous groups until such time as the stock has sufficiently rebuilt.
Third, formalize a system of harvester participation and input into all aspects of fisheries management for northern cod.
In closing, I want to emphasize that the decisions made regarding northern cod and its management will have far-reaching implications for coastal Newfoundland and Labrador. Our communities, which have existed for centuries because of this fishery, are counting on responsible, sustainable management of this resource. The future of northern cod is inextricably linked to the future of our coastal communities.
We urge the committee to recommend management measures that recognize this reality and support the long-term sustainability of both the resource and the people who depend on it.
Also, Minister Lebouthillier's parallel decision to allocate the majority of the redfish unit 1 fishery to the corporate dragger fleet has left our community-based, Gulf of St. Lawrence inshore fleet struggling to survive. To add insult to injury, current management rules mean they cannot even access the small bit of quota they do have.
We therefore urge DFO to adjust the minimum fishing depth to align with the current location of the redfish stocks. This will allow our harvesters to access this very time-sensitive fishery.
We learned hard lessons from the 1992 collapse of northern cod. Now is the time to apply these lessons, prioritize the adjacent inshore fleet and ensure that the benefits of stock recovery flow to those who most depend on the resource. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past. We cannot let the voices of fish harvesters be ignored all over again.
I thank you for your time.