Mr. Bernatchez, a number of people advise the minister, including DFO officials. Even we MPs can make certain recommendations to the minister when we think things should be done differently. I did that with respect to shrimp and the management of the whale crisis in the spring. In that case, we managed to get the regulations changed, because the department officials made the unfortunate mistake of using three different maps to measure water depth.
That said, you say that other people, such as fishers, should be involved in the decision-making. I agree with you that fishers' arguments must be taken into consideration. However, one of the things that Dr. Morissette, who was on the previous panel, and other scientists outside DFO are saying is that the shrimp population is not as large as it used to be. They say they've seen a decline in the species. However, some fishers are saying the opposite. According to them, there are a lot of shrimp, and they could be fished again.
Some arguments can be divisive and raise questions. As you know, the Fisheries Act provides measures to protect our resources, but there is no mention of protecting our communities.
Don't you think the act should include a provision to compensate fishers, the industry and the communities that depend on the fishing industry if a fishery is closed? Should we consider compensating them when a resource is declining so much that it is necessary to protect it for a number of years?
That may be in the act, but I don't recall.