Fisheries Committee on Nov. 25th, 2025

[Jerry V. DeMarco]

I don't agree with that assumption and that's why we have our recommendation at the end. We would like them to be transparent about the portion that is a no-take zone, which is a closure in the sense that you're talking about, and the portion that is open to activities of various sorts.

As to the percentage in B.C. that is covered by protected and conserved areas, I would turn it over to the departments to speak to that.

[Kathy Graham]

On the west coast, with respect to the Northern Shelf bioregion and the implementation of those areas, noting that the boundaries will likely change once we undertake consultation on the site-specific areas that are identified to advance as part of the network, that would potentially contribute approximately 0.03% toward the target.

[Aaron Gunn, Conservative, North Island—Powell River, BC]

B.C. is over 30% already. Is that correct?

[Kathy Graham]

I'd have to look at the statistics.

[Aaron Gunn, Conservative, North Island—Powell River, BC]

It's over 30%. I'll save you the time.

B.C. is now...and for the Northern Shelf bioregion, I believe you're proposing to close up to 40% to various economic activities.

I want to actually turn to Mr. Millar for this.

You claim that MPAs are essential to fighting climate change and for environmental protection, yet every single fisherman that I have talked to has said that by concentrating the same fleet in a smaller area, you risk magnifying the environmental impacts, you increase the risk of overfishing and you decrease the efficiency of the catch, which means you burn more fuel to catch the same amount of fish and create more emissions in the atmosphere.

How is that better for the environment? How is that better for climate change?

[David Millar]

If I'm understanding the question correctly, you're talking about the potential for displacement of fishing out of a marine protected area into the surrounding areas.

[Aaron Gunn, Conservative, North Island—Powell River, BC]

That is what the department is proposing.

[David Millar]

Again, I would go back to the point that these are not closed areas for fishing. We generally work hard to avoid closing areas that would be high-potential fisheries areas, if there is any closure at all. We accommodate—

[Aaron Gunn, Conservative, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Let me just stop you there. This is for the whole department and everyone here.

I spent the last year going up and down my riding, talking to fishermen. They're all under the assumption that their livelihoods are at risk because maybe 40% of areas for geoduck harvesting, for example, are about to be closed and 40% of prawn areas are about to be closed in the Northern Shelf bioregion. Either they're lying to me, which I don't think they are, you're lying to me or you've done a horrible job at communicating this.

What is going on? Are these areas being closed? This has been going on for years. These are people's livelihoods that we're talking about. Will there be areas that are closed to prawn fishing and geoduck in these areas, yes or no?

What is the percentage or do you still not know after five years?

[David Millar]

I would agree that we need to do as much as we can to communicate clearly about what these areas actually mean. I think we do definitely have a communications challenge there. We need to do more, for sure.

In terms of the areas that we are contemplating—I think I'm getting the signal from the chair—in B.C. the overlap with shrimp fishing, for example, is tiny. I can't speak to all the other areas that others are contemplating, but I would agree that we need to get out and do more to make sure people understand what's actually proposed in these areas so that it's clear.

[The Chair, Liberal, Patrick Weiler]

Thank you very much.

Next we'll go to Mr. Morrissey for five minutes.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Thank you, Chair.

I want to follow up with whoever was answering questions to get a little more clarity on the consultation process that's under way on the protected area being considered on the south coast of Newfoundland. As I recall, in one of the answers you indicated that there was some resistance from locals to participate. Could you expand on that?

I believe it was Mr. Millar who was addressing that. It was the consultation process on the considered marine protected area on the south coast of Newfoundland.

[David Millar]

I can certainly expand on the consultation process, but I might have missed part of your question. Did you say something about the resistance to participate?

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Explain the consultation process that's been taking place and how you engage with local stakeholders.

[David Millar]

Of course. Lori can add to this too.

I don't mean to be repetitive, but we've used a combination of different approaches to try to reach as many audiences as we can. As I mentioned, there have been 14 in-person and virtual meetings with—

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

What's been the participation from local people who would or could be impacted?

[David Millar]

Lori has actually been at some of those meetings.

Do you want to speak to that?

[Lori Macadam]

Sure.

As Mr. Millar said, we have used a combination of different consultation processes. We have had in-person community meetings in the communities that are surrounding the national marine conservation area. Those are the communities of Burgeo, Ramea, Francois, Grey River and McCallum. We had planned to go with the assistance of the FFAW into La Poile and Port aux Basques. We're still waiting for the FFAW to assist us to make sure we can get in and talk to the appropriate people in those two communities.

In addition, we have had virtual sessions with the town councils of Harbour Breton and St. Alban's, as well as Mayor Crewe of Hermitage, at least two to three times. The last in-person briefing we had in St. Alban's was requested by the mayor. He invited members of industry, both local and province-wide, to sit down and have a conversation about the NMCA and how that may impact the aquaculture industry, at which point we explained that we're putting everything in place as much as possible to ensure that the aquaculture industry can continue in those particular areas.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Thank you.

Mr. DeMarco, going back to the 30% and how it was arrived at, could you provide to the committee your overview of what drove the 30% from an international perspective? I understand that this was driven by protecting the biodiversity of our oceans, going forward. How was the global number arrived at? What was the rationale behind getting countries to sign on to protecting areas? Again, people will often throw out words for their impact. They'll use such commentary as “closing off 30% of Canadian waters to fishing”. That's not going to happen, correct?

[Jerry V. DeMarco]

It is important, and I think I've said it a couple times now, to at least try to achieve consensus on the facts.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

The facts would be good to hear.

[Jerry V. DeMarco]

That's what paragraphs 46 to 48 are about: Let's have the departments be more transparent, which will help them in their own endeavours to get that buy-in, about the percentage that is a no-take zone, for example, as compared with the areas that are open to fishing another industry. These targets that have arisen over the last several years have increased over time, as we say in paragraph 3, “due to heightening concern internationally about the continued loss of biodiversity and the threat that this poses” not only to nature but also human well-being.

Going back even before our exhibit 1—

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

The threat to human well-being would be the lack of protein harvestable in the oceans. What I would take from that is the oceans' inability to sustain the level of protein that they had in the past. We see all over the place that the number of fish in the oceans is declining.

[The Chair, Liberal, Patrick Weiler]

Mr. DeMarco, perhaps you could just answer briefly. We're out of time here.

[Jerry V. DeMarco]

There are threats relating to the loss of biodiversity for humans not only as a food source, but also in respect to the capacity of the oceans to mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration.