Evidence of meeting #20 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was area.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Vice-President, BC Seafood Alliance
The advice from 2020 was specific advice on boundary adjustments and management measure adjustments on all 350-plus zones.
Commercial Fisheries Representative, Underwater Harvesters Association, BC Seafood Alliance
I just want to note we've lost trust in this whole process, because it's now going on seven years of saying, “Just wait. Your advice is going to be incorporated”, but we haven't seen any of that.
Commercial Fisheries Representative, Underwater Harvesters Association, BC Seafood Alliance
We've been forced to live with this uncertainty for seven years.
Liberal
Bobby Morrissey Liberal Egmont, PE
Have you been presented with any documentation that you could give to the committee to show that your advice is being categorically ignored?
Vice-President, BC Seafood Alliance
I can forward to the committee our extensive report, which has all our advice in it, and we could look at the—
Liberal
Bobby Morrissey Liberal Egmont, PE
That was your advice going in.
I support you from a position that if the government's going to take steps that are going to have a significant negative impact on people's ability to earn a living, and it cannot substantiate beyond any reason why it's taking.... What's the long-term objective? I want to know.
I'll assume your recommendations were good and accurate, but to date.... My question was whether you have any reason or documentation to give this committee that this advice is being categorically dismissed.
Vice-President, BC Seafood Alliance
Yes, you can look at the two recent marine refuges that have been zoned over the last year: Banks Island and the Hoeya Sill. For Banks Island, we had significant advice to reduce the impacts to longline for halibut and lingcod, and prawn by trap, but none of those suggestions were incorporated. Hoeya Sill in Knight Inlet—
Liberal
Bobby Morrissey Liberal Egmont, PE
Excuse me. What would be the justification for closing that area or restricting that fishery? What were you given? What was your—
Vice-President, BC Seafood Alliance
The justification we were given was based on using those areas to reach overall ecological conservation priorities, whether they be individual species or habitats throughout the NSB, and that's a piece of that.
Commercial Fisheries Representative, Underwater Harvesters Association, BC Seafood Alliance
The second piece of proof that our advice hasn't been incorporated is how they came up with a second draft of the NSB with none of our advice incorporated and, in fact, the impacts to industry were worse. We've had two different drafts, and we presented in between them, and the impacts were worse in the second draft.
Liberal
Bobby Morrissey Liberal Egmont, PE
What would you give to this committee that would verify or substantiate your position? I believe he used a number...if it's completely closed, it would reduce the fishery by 20% to 50%. Could you clear it up again on the species that would be impacted that way?
Vice-President, BC Seafood Alliance
Absolutely. I can give you a number of specific examples. In the region from Port Hardy to Bella Bella, there's 32% lost access for geoduck. There is 46%—
Vice-President, BC Seafood Alliance
No, it's a hand-harvested zero bycatch dive fishery.
Commercial Fisheries Representative, Underwater Harvesters Association, BC Seafood Alliance
They're individually caught by commercial divers. We harvest less than 2% of the biomass of the coast every year, so it's not a conservation concern.
Vice-President, BC Seafood Alliance
To answer your question on whether the government is incorporating our advice.... Turn the key on a proper socio-economic impact analysis again, and it could compare that to the previous one from 2020.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Patrick Weiler
Thank you very much, Mr. Morrissey.
Mr. Deschênes, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.
Bloc
Alexis Deschênes Bloc Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Hilborn, what do you think would be the best way to protect marine biodiversity?