Evidence of meeting #40 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 mackerel.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you, Mr. Gunn, for that courtesy.
I want to go now to Mr. Weiler. You have three minutes, Patrick.
Liberal
Patrick Weiler Liberal West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Thank you, Chair. Thanks to the witnesses for being here today.
I have a number of questions for Mr. Fisher.
The Fraser salmon management documents emphasize that in-season decisions are made iteratively as the new test fishery and escapement data becomes available. In practice, how quickly can those updates be translated into changes in the recreational or commercial openings?
Co-Chair, Joint Technical Committee, Fraser Salmon Management Board
It depends, based on which species of Fraser salmon you're talking about.
Fraser sockeye is managed through the Fraser panel, which is the international group, predominantly. That group meets multiple times a week. I attend five or six Fraser panel meetings a week on Fraser sockeye.
Chinook is done predominantly pre-season, and then there are maybe one or two in-season changes, potentially, based on unexpected information. Predominantly, the chinook fishery is set pre-season, before the fishery starts, and then it opens as scheduled.
Obviously there can be extraneous situations, but that's generally how it works.
Liberal
Patrick Weiler Liberal West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
I understand how frequently they meet, but how frequently does the new data actually lead to changes in the fishery itself?
Co-Chair, Joint Technical Committee, Fraser Salmon Management Board
For sockeye, it's within a week.
Liberal
Patrick Weiler Liberal West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Thank you.
In your view, should there be clearer thresholds or rules for when a concern over a particular stock justifies limiting access to other, healthier stocks—say, in a mixed-stock fishery—particularly in the Fraser, but also more broadly in B.C.?
Co-Chair, Joint Technical Committee, Fraser Salmon Management Board
That's an enormous question that I think mixed-stock fisheries have been trying to grapple with for a long time.
Certainly, clearer rules around the acceptable limits to impact on stocks of concern would always be helpful. It's a large challenge that needs to be faced in salmon management.
Liberal
Patrick Weiler Liberal West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Thank you.
As my last question here, Fraser management is often described as requiring coordination among first nations fisheries, commercial interests, recreational fisheries and conservation objectives. When those groups have different interpretations of in-season data, how does that affect the speed of decision-making?
Co-Chair, Joint Technical Committee, Fraser Salmon Management Board
For Fraser sockeye, it runs through the Fraser panel, which means that there's a third party between Canada and the U.S.—the Pacific Salmon Commission—that handles all the technical information. Then, through the tables developed in the Pacific salmon treaty, those discussions happen, led through DFO, with representatives from all fisheries sitting at the Fraser panel and informing the DFO chair of their positions, which are then brought to international negotiation on fisheries.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you very much. That ends that part of the session.
I'll go to Mr. Champoux for two minutes, please.
Bloc
Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Two minutes goes by quickly.
Mr. Cyr, to conclude this round of questions, I'll simply ask you to give us recommendations that we could make to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. I know we can get some from your testimony today, but are there things you would like to say directly to the department about the upcoming decisions it will have to make?
Obviously, there's been a lot of talk about the opening and closing dates of the fisheries, but if you wanted to summarize a few recommendations, what would they be?
Retired Fisherman, As an Individual
First, predictability is a good word.
Second, it's also about listening to the fishers. There's a lot of talk about the experience of fishers, but I feel like they're not being listened to. I see it's the same in the west, as well as in Newfoundland and Labrador, with certain decisions.
Even for species that are not necessarily lucrative, such as herring, mackerel and flounder, among others, we still need to recognize that they're very important for biodiversity.
Fishers are people who have spent so much time on the water. As I said, there are other people who might have a doctorate, like me. It's the scientists from Fisheries and Oceans Canada who gave me the privilege of having a doctorate. Basically, it represents all the experience I've accumulated from all over the gulf, whether it be off Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island or New Brunswick. Together, we've managed to gain great experience, thanks to the meetings and everything else. I'd like the managers of Fisheries and Oceans Canada to one day take all this experience into account.
Bloc
Martin Champoux Bloc Drummond, QC
In any case, thank you for sharing your experience with us.
Thank you, Mr. Cyr.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Hedy Fry
Thank you.
I want to thank the witnesses for coming and for helping us with their expertise.
We have to leave, because we must vote. I will suspend the meeting until 1:30.
Thank you.
[Proceedings continue in camera]