Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Some of your comments about the ENGOs and the Pew foundation, which you've mentioned several times now, really raise more questions about how DFO works with ENGOs. Meanwhile, we've wanted the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to be working with our anglers to have a seat at the table, but they're being ignored.
I'll get into this study here. The part that we're referencing is a Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch report, of all things. What are our American colleagues are saying about it? One news site said of an American ENGO, Seafood Watch, “The California-based Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch gave a red rating to the U.S. and Canadian lobster industry, saying they aren't doing enough to protect the North Atlantic right whale”, as we've been talking about.
What concerns me always, especially about marine protected areas, is when it's politicized. We've seen it politicized on the west coast. We've seen it politicized on the east coast. What are the Americans saying about this particular report? I'm citing an article from the Spectrum News from just a few weeks ago. It says:
Maine Democrats and Republicans blasted Seafood Watch for its rating.
“Seafood Watch is misleading consumers and businesses with this designation,” Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, said in a statement. “Generations of Maine lobstermen have worked hard to protect the sustainability of the lobster fishery and they have taken unprecedented steps to protect right whales—efforts that the Federal government and now Seafood Watch have failed to recognize.”
It goes on to reflect on a Republican's opinion. Governor Paul LePage also said this in a statement: “As Governor again, I will push back at organizations falsely attacking our lobster industry as well as the Biden Administration's destructive regulatory policy aimed at destroying the livelihoods of our fishermen over the false notion they are harming whales.”
It sounds eerily similar to what's happening to our anglers on the west coast around salmon. We know they are plentiful in the water, but there are still closures that have been mandated by this Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
What do our Canadians have to say about this? I'm quoting an article called “Blaming Canada's lobster industry for North Atlantic right whales' plight unfair”, which says, “It is a plain fact that there has never been a single, documented right whale death linked to Canadian lobster gear in recent history.” This was reflected by my colleagues before.
It goes on to say, “There are several reasons why lobster fishing presents a lower risk in Canada. It's an inshore fishery conducted mostly in shallow waters of less than 20 fathoms”—a fathom is six feet, so do that math—“where the right whales are rarely observed.”
We're talking about 120 feet. You referred to that. We already know that. The whales just aren't there.
The article continues:
For more than 150 years, North America's lobster fishery has proven itself to be one of the most sustainable wild fisheries on the planet. For all of us on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border who care deeply about its future, the path forward is clear.
I'll remind the people listening today that there are people connected with these jobs that are lost a result of a poor scientific report put out by this organization. It's tens of thousands of fishing families. I'll repeat that. As the article says, “Tens of thousands of fishing families, plant workers and hundreds of coastal communities depend on setting the record straight and winning this fight.”
Lastly, it states, “Second, we need to stand up and push back on what Seafood Watch represents: activism masquerading as science.”
We just had a whole study talking about that exact thing.
The article goes on to say:
They lumped all fixed-gear fisheries into one basket, with blatant disregard of the facts and lacking peer-review validation.... Cooler heads must prevail. We need more science, and less politics; more bi-national collaboration, less finger-pointing. Ensuring a sustainable future for the right whale—and addressing the threats facing them—knows no borders and needs to be addressed bi-nationally.
I guess my question to you is this: Why would the Department of Fisheries and Oceans be working with ENGOs like the ones mentioned, and that you even referred to, rather than the anglers themselves?