Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll be making the statement today.
Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee, for the invitation to speak here today.
The P.E.I. Fishermen's Association was created in the 1950s and has evolved alongside the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to create the well-established working relationship we currently maintain. Our goal in being here today is to focus on North Atlantic right whale management measures as they relate to Prince Edward Island, and how they can be adapted to ensure a successful fishery while also not impeding the growth of the North Atlantic right whale population.
Before focusing on measures that affect P.E.I. specifically, we feel it's important to point out an overall challenge with the process to date. Since 2017, when the mass mortality triggered meetings to discuss management changes, we feel there has been a lack of meaningful consultation with harvesters. There have been advisory committee meetings and gear summits, but there have been very few harvesters invited to take part.
The gatherings have felt like an opportunity for DFO to check a box while concerns and recommendations voiced during those meetings appear to have fallen on deaf ears. It is the harvesters who are key to a successful solution, so considerable time should be invested by DFO to talk to fishers in every LFA to determine what will and won't work in that area. The first time DFO met with P.E.I. harvesters was in August 2022, five years after discussions started. There's still an opportunity for DFO to be more focused on meaningful consultation with harvesters.
Moving on to current measures related to Prince Edward Island.
First is the mandatory requirement for weak whalesafe gear. The PEIFA understands the goal of this management measure. Unfortunately, there's a lack of information being shared by DFO with harvesters regarding the details. Harvesters need time to modify their gear and January 1, 2023, is fast approaching. P.E.I. harvesters normally prep rope a year in advance of the season. Harvesters would like to avoid a situation like gear marking, which was announced only one month prior to the season and left everyone to scramble to find twine and modify their gear. Major changes like this result in procurement issues slowing the process even more.
The PEIFA still has the following unanswered questions. When will DFO present a list of approved gear? Where does the weak link need to be installed on the vertical line?
Second is with regard to seasonal closures. Currently, Transport Canada is discussing changing the restricted zone near Shediac Valley, based on 2022 whale sightings. There are also discussions of making the restricted zone adaptable, so it can be changed throughout the season, if necessary. The PEIFA feels DFO could consider the same adaptability in relation to the seasonal closures. The first seasonal closure in 2022 was announced around May 19, leaving the grid closed until November 15, almost six months. Adaptability could be built into this management measure to review the area monthly and determine if reopening the grid would be high or low risk. If the risk is low and reopening the grid gives fishers more ground, that should be a discussion on the table. Currently, there is no discussion about reopening once a grid is closed for the season.
Third deals with 20 and 10 fathom exclusion lines. This management measure points to the lower risk of interaction in shallow depths and is also an example of a measure that balances protecting the whales while allowing fishers to access rich fishing grounds.
There is a recommendation from the PEIFA for management measures regarding fishing depths versus whale sightings. In P.E.I. lobster harvesters fish in depths that range from four to 130 feet. It is obvious North Atlantic right whales are not sighted in four feet of water. Therefore, management measures being forced on fishers in these areas are not effective in protecting whales. However, they do create additional work and the risk of lost gear to fishers. This could be solved with an exclusion zone, based on the science of the minimum depth North Atlantic right whales are sighted.
As an example, if the 10th fathom line was the exclusion line, it would save about 99% of island fishers some time and money in the preparation of their gear without increasing the risk to North Atlantic right whales. These numbers are extrapolated from 503 surveys completed by island fishers on gear configuration through the whalesafe gear adoption fund.
The PEIFA has been working diligently on this file over the years. We take part in the following committees and advisories: DFO's technical working group, DFO's advisory committee, the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, the Ropeless Consortium, Transport Canada's small vessel technical working group and the Canadian Wildlife Federation. The PEIFA also attends the North Atlantic right whale stakeholder meeting.
We then disseminate the information gathered to P.E.I. fishers through advisory and board meetings on P.E.I. The PEIFA is also working with harvesters to determine whalesafe gear that would work for P.E.I. This work started prior to the whalesafe gear fund, but trials expanded through the whalesafe gear fund while additionally collecting data on gear configuration. We hope to use gear configuration information to ensure management measures are efficient for P.E.I.
Harvesters also do their part to find efficient methods to remove ghost gear and to remove lost gear before it becomes ghost gear. Again, some of this work has been ongoing on P.E.I. prior to the ghost gear fund, but the work has been expanded with the help of this fund.
The PEIFA is aware that this is a complex issue. We want to work with DFO to find solutions, but we are also feeling that there are missed opportunities for DFO to listen to the concerns raised by fishers and to discuss possible solutions.
Thank you for your time.