Evidence of meeting #36 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 year.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Aaron Gunn Conservative North Island—Powell River, BC
Thank you, Chair.
My question is for Mr. Davis, but someone else can feel free if they feel more adequately prepared to answer.
Outside of an emergency, do the government and DFO require sign-off or consensus from the Musqueam band when making decisions regarding the fisheries, including pre-season, in-season and post-season decisions, such as opening and closing dates in the relevant area?
Regional Director, Fisheries Management Branch, Pacific Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Thank you. I can take that question.
As I was describing earlier, it isn't the case that any group has a veto, per se, over opening and closing decisions.
There are Musqueam fisheries that could be undertaken. Fisheries may occur in areas where other sectors can participate. I would say that we try to collaborate very closely with the Musqueam and take their input very seriously. In the case of their planning their own fisheries, we would try to work with them in the best way possible to define a plan for opening those fisheries—one they support.
In the case of other fisheries, it may be occurring in—
Conservative
Aaron Gunn Conservative North Island—Powell River, BC
Mr. Davis, I will jump in here to try to get more specific.
I have the text of the Musqueam agreement in front of me. What I'm trying to zero in on are the effects on recreational and commercial fishers with respect to what the government identifies as the traditional territory of the Musqueam nation. The word used throughout the agreement is “consensus”. I feel you dodged Mr. Arnold's question on caveats whereby the minister is allowed to exercise discretion in the case of an emergency.
Outside of an emergency case, do you require sign-off or consensus from the Musqueam nation regarding fisheries decisions being made in this area? It's a pretty clear question.
Regional Director, Fisheries Management Branch, Pacific Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
I think the intent is that we would strive for consensus. We acknowledge that we may not get it in all cases.
In those cases, we would move forward with a decision that takes into consideration what we heard from the Musqueam and other users when opening or closing fisheries.
Conservative
Aaron Gunn Conservative North Island—Powell River, BC
Okay. Outside of an emergency, you are not required to reach consensus with the fisheries working group identified in the Musqueam agreement. That's what I was reading in the agreement. If that's the clarification you're providing, that's great. That's what I'm asking about.
Regional Director, Fisheries Management Branch, Pacific Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
I don't think I have anything further to add. Thank you.
Conservative
Aaron Gunn Conservative North Island—Powell River, BC
Can you provide clarity? I'm asking the questions here.
Regional Director, Fisheries Management Branch, Pacific Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Yes, of course I can.
We strive to reach consensus. We acknowledge that we may not achieve consensus on all decision points. When we don't, we move forward with making a decision that takes into account everything we've heard from the Musqueam and other user groups, where those user groups are relevant to the decision.
Conservative
Aaron Gunn Conservative North Island—Powell River, BC
Okay. Thank you.
Again, this might be for Mr. Williams, but feel free, Mr. Davis, if you'd like to jump in as well.
You said, in your opening remarks, that you work with industries and harvesters to set opening and closing dates. However, this past summer, I was inundated with complaints from commercial and recreational fishermen in my riding and throughout British Columbia about how slow the department was to open the sockeye fishery on the Fraser River, despite early results from test boats that showed, for example, returns being much higher than originally anticipated.
Do you share the conclusion of many commercial and recreational fishermen that the department was too slow in opening the fishery?
Senior Director, Resource Management - Operations, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Thanks for the question. I will refer that one to Mr. Davis.
Regional Director, Fisheries Management Branch, Pacific Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Thank you. This is a very important question, so I appreciate the chance to speak to it.
The decision-making process is constantly responding to updates to in-season information. The Fraser panel meets twice a week in-season to review updated stock assessment information and make new decisions about whether there should be adjustments in our total allowable catches for different species. In that process, we engage with representatives in the Canadian delegation—recreational, commercial and first nations users—to make those decisions in as timely a way as possible, and then turn around and publish something like a fishery notice so that people beyond our representatives at the panel know what's going to happen.
One thing we did this year, after all those concerns were raised last summer, was to start that discussion process with our domestic advisory bodies sooner in order to leave more time to talk about how we set out our options for defining that escapement plan and how we engage with people in-season. This is so people have the most timely information possible when we're making adjustments to in-season data.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you.
That's the end of the round.
I will now go to Mr. d'Entremont for five minutes, please.
Liberal
Chris d'Entremont Liberal Acadie—Annapolis, NS
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Thanks, folks, for being here today to answer our questions.
We'll go to districts 33 and 34 of the lobster fishery for a minute on the opening and closing of seasons. Probably for the last 10 years, except for this year, every single opening of that season has been put off to a future date, most times because of weather. Weather has a big effect, of course, on our winter fisheries, which continues to happen. The lobster fishery in that area normally opens up on the last Monday of November every year, and of course that gets bumped off for weather reasons.
How does the consultation go with the industry to make sure everybody is on the same page? A lot of times this will affect sales of that product because you're trying to hit the Christmas season, as you said in your opening statement. Sometimes the decision on seasons happens with a consultation with the industry on product and when the market is best for it, and that's what happens in this particular case. I'm wondering how that discussion happens with the industry on weather and other events that continue to happen in and around it.
Senior Director, Resource Management - Operations, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Thank you very much for the question.
Indeed, as I noted in my opening remarks, safety is the number one priority in terms of establishing our season dates, our opening and closing dates. Looking at that, the process starts well before the opening of the fishery on any given date on the calendar. It actually starts much earlier by looking back at last year's season too see if there were issues with that opening date, if there were issues throughout the season in terms of safety or if there were other considerations in terms of landings, prices and the supply of that product. We debrief from that season, which has closed, and then move towards, as the season starts to approach, the advisory process.
In the days and weeks leading up to the opening date, there is very regular contact with representatives of those harvester associations, those indigenous groups and our regional officials. They're the ones making the call—the ones closest to the water—for those opening dates. If we have agreement to shift that, then by all means, we do so for safety reasons, recognizing—and harvesters, themselves, know—that there could be some economic considerations with that. That is something they're aware of.
Liberal
Chris d'Entremont Liberal Acadie—Annapolis, NS
Flexibility is probably a really good word here, where we have to roll with the weather. We have to roll with the product. We have to roll with the season. Flexibility is probably the big word here.
Senior Director, Resource Management - Operations, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
That's correct, especially when we're dealing with a fishery such as lobster, which does not have individual quotas and is characterized as.... Well, it's a trap-based fishery.
Liberal
Senior Director, Resource Management - Operations, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
As a secondary factor, it does, absolutely. Quality has a direct relationship with the price at the wharf and the prices throughout the supply chain and products as exports. It is secondary to safety.
Liberal
Chris d'Entremont Liberal Acadie—Annapolis, NS
I think quality this year in districts 33 and 34 was a concern, especially in those first few weeks. Quite honestly, had we known everything we know now, we probably should have bumped it off a little bit. That, of course, would have been for the industry to make that decision.
If we're talking about quality and then we talk about.... We have the big commercial fishery in the winter in districts 33 and 34, and then we have the challenge of FSC and moderate livelihood that happens during the summer months. How does that affect the decision-making when we know there's a fair amount of product being taken out of those same waters but at different times of year?
Senior Director, Resource Management - Operations, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Certainly, with respect to moderate livelihood, that is a commercial fishery in the eyes of.... It's a rights-based commercial fishery for the department and for those who practise it. That is calculated in terms of our estimates and what we think is sustainable for the long-term use of that resource.
Liberal
Chris d'Entremont Liberal Acadie—Annapolis, NS
Is that even though the industry would probably be saying that the product isn't good during those times of the year?
Senior Director, Resource Management - Operations, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
I can't necessarily speak to the specifics on the quality at given times, but that has been noted.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you.
We now go to the third round, and that begins with Mr. Arnold for five minutes.
Go ahead, please.
Conservative
Mel Arnold Conservative Kamloops—Shuswap—Central Rockies, BC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I'll start again with Mr. Davis, if I could.
The issue around the Fraser sockeye opening, or late opening, last year came up directly to me again. As Mr. Gunn had mentioned earlier, there were calls from commercial fishers and recreational fishers. I had a call from a former DFO management individual concerned with the fishery further up the Fraser River, one that he said actually should have been opened two weeks earlier than it was because there was confusion over which stocks were being impacted. They kept the Fraser closed above the confluence at Lytton. They weren't allowing a fishery further upstream at Lillooet because of a run stock that doesn't even go past Lillooet.
Can you explain why that fishery was so delayed? Do you perhaps have numbers on the millions in economic opportunity that was probably lost?