My apologies. I'm working with technology that didn't get sent to me in time. That's my excuse, and I'll stick with it for now.
Thank you, everyone, for the opportunity to have a discussion with you today. As for my background, I'm a former federal fisheries manager. I've worked in Ottawa, overseas and throughout Atlantic Canada. I've worked with CSAS in requesting CSAS stock assessments and framework reviews, and participated in stock assessment reviews and editorial assessments of that process.
What I'm about to delve into is a series of questions. It appears that during the past several years, DFO has updated most of its stock assessment models, which for the most part have resulted in decreasing assessments. As a consequence of those efforts to update recent assessment models, several key questions arise that would be helpful if they could be elaborated on. I currently work with a group of retired scientists from DFO, those working both within the fishery as fishermen and on the sea and with companies domestically and internationally.
There are some questions that come to mind that are representative of all our discussions. Why were the assessment models updated at this time? There are arguments that suggest that it was time to take a more conservation-focused approach, but what parameters were updated, and to what degree were they updated? These are the technical questions that come out from discussions that the scientists who are outside the department are keen to try to understand. It isn't clear to them what science was used to update those parameters.
Using halibut as an example, the halibut fishery has been solid on the Atlantic coast for years. The population has recovered under the existing models. This has created questions. If the existing model was either inadequate or flawed, how could the halibut population thrive using it? What was the rationale for changing the model if the model may not have been flawed? The new model suggests reducing the quota by 13%. Is this an indicator of increased accuracy within the new model, or has the model been adjusted to reflect the enhanced conservation objectives? If not, is there an accuracy threshold that the new assessment modelling is striving to achieve?
Another interesting question comes to mind, because we're associated fairly closely with Scandinavian scientists. Are there correlations between the updated Canadian assessment models and typical Scandinavian stock assessment models, whereas most fish stocks are either increasing or at an all-time-high stable level in Scandinavia?
With respect to the department's promotion of marine protected areas and marine refuges and their projected increase in number, complexity and sizes, what degree of commitment of physical and human resources has science separately forecasted to directly support and subsequently monitor these initiatives? In other words, what degree of resources may have to be pared off from science to support ongoing monitoring of the ever-increasing numbers and sizes of these protected areas?
What is the anticipated impact on science resources to continue stock assessments should increased science resources be delegated elsewhere? For example, in the maritime region, stocks have been segregated into two-tier systems where high-profile stocks receive higher levels of science versus the lower-profile stocks, which receive little to no science assessment. Stakeholders have been advised that this ratio may change to even less science support in future because of increased demands elsewhere.
These are but questions that come to mind from a group of scientists who work within the industry and on the water. On the recommendations that emanate from this, we would hope that science is open and transparent in developing a presentation and priorities so that we can all debate them as they move forward.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.