Fisheries Committee on April 15th, 2026

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Could you elaborate a bit more on your perspective—you've been in this industry a long time—from an advocacy role as the executive director of the PEIFA? What priorities and, more importantly, what negative impacts should be avoided when the department moves to change the season dates for opening and closing? Could you expand on this a bit?

[Ian MacPherson]

As I mentioned in my statement, one of our concerns would be.... One thing I neglected to mention is the importance, at least in Prince Edward Island, of pre-season dredging. This is also predicated on ice and when the tenders are finalized and equipment is in place.

We have to be very careful about a season being delayed at the start, and then another season starting in another area significantly sooner, because this could create a situation in which a lot of product hits the market at one time. We know from past experiences that the plants make every effort to handle the capacity that comes through the door, but this can also create issues with some of our production plants.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Through you, Chair, to Mr. MacPherson again, we often look at the impact of season dates as when the fisher gets on the water or leaves the water, but to focus more on the point you last raised about the necessity of fully understanding the impact on the marketplace of moving dates around for certain species, could you explain to the committee why this should be top of mind?

[Ian MacPherson]

It's supply and demand. Although a lot of supply agreements are negotiated prior to the season, delivery dates are spread out. I'm not a direct representative, of course, of the production in the processors' association, but we work very closely with them and part of this is trying to spread out workloads, keep costs in line and do those types of things.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

It is important for everybody to be aware that the efficiency of those processing plants directly impacts the price paid to fishers. Am I correct on that?

[Ian MacPherson]

Yes. In the past, this has not worked in our favour when too much product hit the market at the same time.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

There's another point in reference to your opening statement. You referenced a consistent process in determining the opening and closing dates. Could you elaborate a bit more on when this may not have worked well or what practices do work well?

[Ian MacPherson]

Well, two of our three regions border on other provinces, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and we have had scenarios in the past when there are votes conducted on what a date should be and there's not really a structured process. We have a very rigorous one at the PEIFA. We think this should be extended to other areas in that it's just like a vote for our politicians. There's a process. Everyone follows the same process. The results are documented, and the results are shared.

A concern is that sometimes you meet fishers from another area, and they didn't have the opportunity to vote, they weren't aware of the vote or it was just a series of phone calls. We feel these are very important issues. They impact a lot of people. There should be a rigorous process in place when a vote is required.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

This is my last question in my time left, Mr. MacPherson. Do you feel it is extremely important for the department to verify that every fisher who is impacted by a date change or the contemplation of one has the ability to express their own point of view?

[Ian MacPherson]

That's correct, yes. We think that votes are the best way, and they allow everyone to have a voice, but at the end of the day, it truly goes in the direction of the majority.

One other quick point I want to make, Mr. Morrissey, is that sometimes, if there's a lot of product in the marketplace, the processors will pivot to a product they can process more quickly, which tends to be a lower-value product in the marketplace. We don't want to see those types of scenarios either.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Patrick Weiler]

Thank you very much, Mr. Morrissey.

Mr. Deschênes, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good morning, everyone.

I thank the witnesses for joining us.

Mr. MacPherson, my first questions are for you. Can you hear me clearly?

[Ian MacPherson]

Yes, I can.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

You said that the established process for deciding when to open and close the zones lacked consistency, that it wasn't reliable.

What makes you say that?

[Ian MacPherson]

Well, it is relevant to the conditions of this particular area. Some fisheries try to have predetermined dates long before their season opens. I will speak to the spring lobster season on Prince Edward Island.

We have a lot of dialogue prior to the season to get input from people, whether they're ready, what the ice conditions are in their particular ports and that kind of thing, but many times—and we saw it this year—we have one region that wants to go quite a bit earlier. This year we had another region, 26A, that wanted to go with a more traditional date. DFO made the decision, which they should be making, but there is very little dialogue between the two areas even though they're fishing the same area.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

If I understand correctly, you're referring to two zones on Prince Edward Island.

Is that correct?

[Ian MacPherson]

We have three, actually, but two of the three zones border either on Nova Scotia or New Brunswick.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

When Fisheries and Oceans Canada makes a decision, like in this instance, do they explain to you the reasons behind that decision?

[Ian MacPherson]

In this particular case, there were votes on both sides that supported the differential in dates. DFO landed somewhere in the middle, perhaps a little closer to the traditional date, but a lot of times these decisions come quite late, as people are trying to prepare. In this particular case, I believe the DFO rationale was a concern that, if the season started too late, it would run into July, which we don't want to see, but the conditions didn't prevail for the season to start earlier.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

You say you think Fisheries and Oceans Canada based its decision on a certain reason, but do they explain their decisions to you?

When they announce them to you, do they provide the scientific advice or data on which they based their decision, for example regarding water temperature or the presence of ice?

[Ian MacPherson]

Sometimes, yes. I wouldn't say we generally get this type of information extensively. I can appreciate that it's not a precise process.

Part of my concern is that we seem to have submissions of a wider variation of dates. A lot of the time, we may be talking about a day or two one way or the other, which is very close, but in this particular case, we had at least five to seven days' difference in the start date, which is quite significant.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

Thank you, Mr. MacPherson.

Mr. Bird, you speak a lot about uncertainty and inconsistent communication. Let's start with uncertainty. Normally, when these decisions are made, they are based in part on science and the state of the stocks. As a result, there is an element of uncertainty that will remain from year to year.

What improvements do you see as possible to reduce uncertainty as much as possible?

[Owen Bird]

There will be uncertainty, because a number of factors are involved in stock health. Climate change and all of those factors play into it.

The way seasons for a recreational fishery will end.... All fisheries on the coast of B.C. involve pre-season planning. This uses estimates and catch data from previous years. In the case of a recreational fishery, there are decades' worth of data that indicate anticipated catch, so it's a difficult question to answer specifically about so many different variables. MP Arnold asked about a sockeye fishery, and what I've just said is not fully applicable to this, because it's quite complex.

The overarching remark is that uncertainty is a part of fisheries planning. This is understood. In terms of setting a season start or finish for the recreational fishery, as I said, there is decades' worth of information about the recreational catch. It's quite reasonable to have an expectation of what the opportunity will be. It's what allows people to have confidence to book way in advance, because they know there will be an opening, in some regard.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

Right now—

[The Chair, Liberal, Patrick Weiler]

I'm sorry, but I must interrupt, as your time is up.

This completes our first round. We're going to start the second round with Mr. Gunn for five minutes.