Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, members of the committee. Thank you for the time you are allowing me.
My name is Jean Côté. I have been the scientific director of the Regroupement des pêcheurs professionnels du Sud de la Gaspésie, the RPPSG, since 2010. I have a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in marine biology from the Université Laval. Since 2017, I have been working on the protection of right whales in the Atlantic and on implementing measures to protect this endangered species.
The lobster fishers of Gaspésie fish in an area between 20 fathoms in depth and the coast is less than a kilometre away. To date, they have never observed right whales in these shallow depths. However, implementing measures to protect right whales and the impact of the lobster fishery on this species present a fundamental problem for our organization. With the implementation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the MMPA, by the United States, which determines the status of a country to be able to export to the American market, Canada must put measures in place to protect right whales that are equivalent to those in the United States. In addition, a single right whale death caused by a fishing trap or by ropes could cause those markets to be closed, and this would have immediate consequences for fishers, for whom it would be impossible to sell their catches to the processing plants, which are oriented mainly to the United States, as my colleagues said earlier.
In spite of the implementation of existing protection measures that are superior to those in the United States, identification of ropes, and the absence of whales in the lobster fishers' fishing grounds in Gaspésie, the members of our organization do not know whether they will lose access to the American market if there is a right whale death caused by a Canadian fishing trap or ropes elsewhere in the Atlantic.
In addition, right whale protection measures implemented by Canada can have major socioeconomic repercussions. In 2018, the application of right whale protection measures by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which were initially to be for the snow crab fishery in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, caused the closure of the lobster fishery in Gaspésie for 67 members of our organization when one whale was seen 18 kilometres offshore. The small RCM of Rocher-Percé then suffered a loss of indirect economic benefits amounting to several million dollars. As well, 67 fishers who were captains and owners lost three weeks' income and more than 100 members of seasonal crews were at risk of not accumulating the necessary number of weeks to be able to claim employment insurance. As a result of the speedy reaction by the province of Quebec and the Regroupement itself in response to this urgent situation, the helpers were able, through a vocational training program, to get the number of weeks needed to live from one season to the next. However, none of the 67 fishers received compensation for the losses suffered, which were estimated at over $2 million. The next year, fortunately, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans agreed to put different measures in place for the snow crab fishers and lobster fishers in Gaspésie by recognizing the exclusion areas we are all familiar with below the 20‑fathom depth line, and this is an improvement. As well, just now, Mr. Mallet too acknowledged [technical difficulties].
The RPPSG has implemented a whale watching program in the inshore areas under 20 fathoms. We are actively engaged in researching modifications to fishing gear with low breaking-strength links.
We are also working on expanding our knowledge of right whales with the renowned expert everyone is talking about, Lyne Morissette [technical difficulties]. We have tested various mechanisms to allow the whales to free themselves if they become entangled.
We do believe that there is no single solution to address the unique features of each of the fisheries. In addition, the testing we want to do is complicated because of the limited availability and quantity of the gear, such as weak-link ropes [technical difficulties].
I think there is still a lot of work to do to find solutions that reflect the reality of the various fisheries that use fishing traps everywhere in the Atlantic. We have seen some excellent examples [technical difficulties].
If the solutions currently being considered were put in place by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans starting in 2023, the manufacturers and suppliers would not be able to supply all the fishers with the necessary gear. In addition, I think other solutions need to be tested that address the unique features of the terrain and the specific fishery.
We at the RPPSG recommend that the DFO put different measures in place.
First, a program should be created to protect fishers' and helpers' income, in the event that the fishery is closed because of the presence of a right whale and the American markets are closed after the death of a right whale caused by Canadian traps or ropes located very far from our own fishery.
We think it is important to conduct a socioeconomic impact study in relation to the implementation of right whale protection measures and to put measures in place to mitigate the consequences that will have on the fishery sector.