Thank you very much for the invitation to appear today.
Over my almost 50 years of fisheries research and consulting work, I have been privileged to support the development of what is arguably the best-managed, most economically robust and most sustainable coastal fishery in the world. It's not perfect by any means, but it's still a huge strategic asset for the rural coastal regions of Canada.
This current review of the act offers an opportunity to further advance sustainable development in the fisheries by addressing strategic issues and gaps where stronger legislative and regulatory governance is needed. In my view, the most significant failure in current fisheries legislation, regulations and licensing policy is the great disparity in support for coastal communities and working fish harvesters on the Atlantic versus the Pacific coasts.
In the Canada Gazette in 2020, the DFO minister articulated the government's rationale for new licensing regulations for Atlantic fisheries.
It reads:
Progressive fisheries policies that prevent vertical integration between the fishing and processing sectors and that prevent the concentration of licences in the hands of a few corporations or individuals have been pivotal in the maintenance of the wealth distribution across the [Atlantic] region and small communities. Without these policies, wealth from fishing licences would be concentrated in the hands of ineligible third parties resulting in fewer or lower paying fishing jobs available in rural coastal areas and in a decrease of economic benefits being maintained in the coastal communities.
These are the words of the minister.
This sets out in clear, concrete language why the Atlantic owner-operator policies were put into law. Importantly, it also describes in detail the negative outcomes we are seeing in British Columbia in the absence of fleet separation and owner-operator protections—that is, the concentration of licences “in the hands of a few corporations” or individuals, and “fewer or lower paying fishing jobs available in rural coastal areas and in a decrease of economic benefits being maintained in the coastal communities.”
StatCan tax filer data confirms the poor performance of the British Columbia fishery from 2010 to 2019. Average income from fishing employment, captains and crew on the Atlantic coast improved by 68%, while B.C. harvesters saw only 4% growth in earnings, even though total landed value in B.C. grew by 36% over the period. The wealth didn't go to fishermen. More up-to-date DFO licensing statistics show that, from 2014 to 2023, the fisheries labour force in British Columbia shrank by one-third—a loss of 1,954 jobs—while harvester employment in Atlantic fisheries had a slight uptick.
There have been 800 fishing jobs lost in B.C. since this committee's “West Coast Fisheries: Sharing Risks and Benefits” report was completed in 2019. Two major FOPO studies in 2019 and 2023 examined these issues in great depth and called on DFO ministers to initiate the transition to a made-in-B.C., owner-operator licensing regime. To date, however, only limited steps have been taken. DFO Pacific region is currently conducting yet another engagement process to consult not on how to fix the licensing system but on whether a fix is needed and what it might possibly look like.
I therefore urge the committee to recommend amending the Fisheries Act to establish fleet separation as the default licensing policy for all owner-operator coastal or small boat commercial fishing fleets in Canada, the template being the fleet separation rules currently in effect in designated Atlantic fisheries.
Thank you, and I look forward to the discussion.