Foreign Affairs Committee on March 21st, 2013

[Renée Sauvé]

It remains to be seen. It's not a yes or no question, but the question has been raised as to whether there will be a commercially viable fishery in the central Arctic Ocean. Part of that questioning is, of course, related to ice cover. Even with the reduction in multi-year ice, annual ice can be very dangerous, so it's not necessarily a particularly attractive place for fishers to go. As well there are the issues of safety and insurance, which can be economic disincentives.

From an ecological perspective, the central basin is very deep. It doesn't have some of the habitat features that tend to be attractive to some of the subarctic species that might be moving into the area. The experts think that some of the areas that will probably be attractive earlier are the shelf areas, in other words, areas within national jurisdictions.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

That is what you would describe as the inshore fishery.

[Renée Sauvé]

Right.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

You mentioned there is evidence of some northward movement of some species, and I think you mentioned pollock in that regard. What other species have you seen northward movement with?

[Renée Sauvé]

We're getting a little bit of data related to Greenland halibut. Not all fish species are sensitive to temperature changes, but some are, and Greenland halibut is one of those. They have, in fact, been detecting a northward movement of Greenland halibut up into some of those shelf areas, where they haven't historically been.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

I would imagine that would be a commercially valuable fishery. Is that correct?

[Renée Sauvé]

It's a commercial species now, so yes.

These shelf areas in the Arctic, of course, would have to be conducive to good productivity. The Arctic Ocean in general is not considered a necessarily highly productive area compared with some other ocean areas on the globe.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Is that because of water temperature?

[Renée Sauvé]

It's colder. You tend to have species that are slower growing, with lower reproductive rates and that sort of thing.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Mr. Burden mentioned Arctic char. It is a species that's currently in the region and has always been in the region. It's a very popular fish served in restaurants in southern Ontario. Some of it is farmed fish, I believe. Is that where most of it comes from? Are those fish-farming operations in the Arctic region?

[David Burden]

We're actually not seeing aquaculture in the north from a Canadian perspective. There are probably going to be some people who will want to look at that.

Clearly, from our perspective, the marketing of the northern product as truly wild and truly Canadian is the approach that has done quite well for their market. It's a good solid fishery for them.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Does wild Arctic char reach our markets here in southern Ontario?

[David Burden]

Yes. I mentioned the Pangnirtung fishery. They're doing an awful lot of char.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

I think you said $2.5 million a year as a—

[David Burden]

The number I gave was related to turbot, but that plant also does a considerable amount of char.

I was up there in October. They have some of the best char of excellent quality and just beautiful colour. It is world renowned.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Very good.

Is that supplying significant economic benefit to the people of the region?

[David Burden]

Yes. The last two years have probably been among the best for some of the fishermen. One person had an income of almost $60,000, not in char but for a combined fishery. A lot of it was related to turbot, but $60,000 in those communities—

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

It goes a long way.

[David Burden]

—goes a long, long way.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Very good.

Ms. Sauvé, you mentioned the international Convention on the Law of the Sea and fishing regulation generally. Do you think there's a role for the Arctic Council to play in the negotiation of regional Arctic fisheries rules and regulations?

[Renée Sauvé]

Yes. I think I was commenting on the lay of the land regarding what exists now in terms of a legal framework. Contrary to some of the stories in the media and the suggestion that it's like the wild west, I think that's far from the truth.

That being said, in general there can be a demand for more specific agreements, depending on the area. This is something that does fall out of that framework on the UN Convention on the Law of Sea, which I mentioned, and its subsequent fish stocks agreement. That is the route through which fisheries are managed.

The Arctic Council, again, is a collaborative body for the Arctic states to have dialogue and to talk about sustainable development. It has increasingly tried to influence policy, but it is definitely not a management body. It doesn't have the legal mandate or the policy mandate or the expertise you would have. There is an established system that falls out of these UN instruments for fisheries management, so that would be the route a new fisheries management organization for the Arctic would take.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

I see.

I've seen mention in the media that some of the Asian nations which have big commercial fishing fleets may have some interest in Arctic fishing. I guess they would include Korea and Japan. If Canada were to invite non-Arctic nations to play a central role in the Arctic Council, do you believe they would have an impact on Canada's fishing industry? If so, what role do you think the non-Arctic states could play in that? What concerns would we have in terms of bringing in those non-Arctic nations to participate in the Arctic Council with respect to the fishing industry issues?

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Ms. Sauvé, that's all the time we have, but I'm going to ask you to give us a quick response.

[Renée Sauvé]

With respect to fishing, I don't think there will be a strong link there simply because, again, the Arctic Council doesn't have a mandate to manage fisheries, so I don't think there's a big concern in terms of them having an influence on fisheries management. In the same way that the Arctic Council doesn't deal with security issues, it is not a fisheries management organization.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Thank you very much.

We're going to turn it over to Mr. Eyking. Go ahead, sir, for seven minutes, please.