Thank you, Madam Chair.
I also want to thank the witnesses for being here today.
What I would like to talk about is the material resources and operational capacity available to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, or DFO, and the Coast Guard. According to the testimony we've heard, that seems to be one of the main things holding up the opening of the snow crab fishery in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A while ago, the committee heard testimony from Daniel Desbois, the president of the Association des crabiers gaspésiens inc. He made it abundantly clear that, while the process has improved over the years, the system doesn't seem to be keeping up. It's ready on paper, but not at sea.
For example, this year, the icebreaker was due to arrive in early March, but it came a month later, in early April. The tugboat was unavailable in Paspébiac for a month. Specialized equipment like frogs and hovercraft weren't available, so the icebreakers had to come back several times because the ice had time to build up again and again. Mr. Desbois also explained the impact it had on crab harvesters.
Just a few days' delay in the spring delayed harvesting days in June, which resulted in extra fuel costs and relocating harvesting operations during a period when the risk of right whale interactions increases significantly.
That's what I want to discuss with you. You work with the Coast Guard. Perhaps this would be an opportunity to explain why the Coast Guard regularly lacks equipment, such as frogs and hovercraft.
Is it a budget issue? Is it a fleet availability issue? Is it the way operations are prioritized at this time of year? Is it an annual planning problem?
I'd like to hear what you have to say about that.