Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon and thank you for the invitation to appear before you today.
As many of you know, the Fisheries Council of Canada is the national trade association representing wild-capture processors across the country, all of whom also harvest. We promote a healthy resource and a prosperous industry that plays a vital role in the Canadian economy.
I would like to start by sharing some important facts of the sector that are often overlooked or underappreciated.
Canada has a strong sustainability record. DFO reports that 98% of our commercial fish stocks are harvested at sustainable levels. In addition, Canada is second in the world in the adoption of the Marine Stewardship Council, or MSC, which is an independent, third party, sustainable fisheries management certification. On the economic side, it is the leading sector of Canada’s blue economy, with 90,000 jobs and $9 billion in annual GDP. It is the lifeblood of coastal communities
For the discussion today, I have a number of key messages for you.
First is that no one wants to endanger whales. This should be obvious, but I feel like it needs to be said. They are majestic creatures and none of us wants to harm them.
Also, no one wants to lose gear. This should be obvious, but we know that lost gear can contribute to the entanglement risk and more. Gear is marked, it's reported when lost and there are incentives, as you heard from previous witnesses, for harvesters to retrieve lost gear.
Indeed, the whales are endangered and Canada does have a legal obligation to act. You heard from DFO officials that they have to act under the Species At Risk Act. We also need to be concerned about market implications under the U.S. MMPA, which you are also familiar with. I’ll get back to that in a moment.
Dynamic closures are an effective approach. As you heard, they might not be perfect, but DFO continues to learn from one year to the next. We have certainly learned a lot from the first year of static closures. You have heard from other witnesses, including those today who are more intimately engaged in discussions with DFO, on those closures and approaches. I will just add my voice to the chorus that the dynamic approach is much better than more static approaches taken elsewhere. I encourage DFO to continue to discuss with industry the learnings from one year to the next.
In terms of market access and market acceptance, we have to be cognizant of expectations of foreign governments and customers. The U.S. market is our top export market. Last year, it was to the tune of $6.2 billion or 70% of our seafood exports. Of this, lobster was $2.2 billion and crab—mostly snow crab—was $1.9 billion, for a total of $4.1 billion. We’ll learn as early as next month how the U.S. government evaluated our fisheries under the MMPA. I am confident that we will have good comparability findings.
Reactions can also impact our overall market reputation beyond those fisheries directly affected. Unfortunately, the reality is that we do have to respond to organizations that criticize us. It is even more frustrating when they are not transparent or robust in their determinations, but it is critical that industry speaks up for itself, and we have. As the national voice, FCC has been increasingly proactive in building public trust for the sector. It is also here to respond to criticisms after that fact.
We also expect that when questions are posed on how DFO is managing our resources, it defends itself and the industry. I think DFO could do better in this respect. We can’t forget that DFO makes the rules and when we are criticized, it impacts them too.
Lastly, we expect MSC to defend itself and the industry. I am pleased that they have done and continue to do this.
In closing, I want to note that the lobster and snow crab sectors are innovating at an unprecedented pace. The supports from government are also helping in this respect. I hope that, in only a few short years, the entanglement risk will be virtually eliminated by the widespread adoption of innovative gear.
Thank you. I look forward to your questions