Thank you.
In both cases there are challenges. The CGSB's role is largely about process management, that they have the proper systems in place, that they have the proper repositories, the proper protection of data and information sharing, and so on and so forth.
Anomalies creep in, so even if you have a proper system, it is possible that the data that comes in is inaccurate, and that would be very challenging for the CGSB to determine. That's more a role for the department, and we use a variety of methods and investigations and oversight. It's largely data comparison among the fleet in an area, data comparison among different methods. You can appreciate when it comes to fish there are a number of different documents. The master files a report and sometimes they have to hail him at sea. They have to fill in a log. There are surveillance overflights to verify the area of fishing and the type of gear being used. There are independent inspections by fishery officers on board. So it is challenging.
We have had cases in the past where individual observers, not the companies themselves, but individual observers have either colluded with the fisher involved and submitted false data, or they were wilfully neglectful in carrying out their duties and utilized the master's data without independent verification.
I think about three years ago we did an in-depth analysis of the crab fishery, and it was determined that the data that three or four individuals had submitted was inaccurate for the area they were fishing. We dealt with them through the normal course of an investigation, and they were charged and taken to court. In that particular case, though, to bring it back to the CGSB, it wasn't a failure of the company per se in terms of process. The data came in, the data was handled properly, and the data was submitted through the system. That's why—and I think I alluded to it in my presentation—we have two sets of checks and balances. CGSB is focused mostly on whether the data systems are operating as they are supposed to when it comes to storage transmission oversight, because we expect the companies to have some oversight as well. But when you have wilful fraud and collusion, it's very challenging to root that out. It usually becomes apparent when you start doing the comparative analysis that something seems to be amiss, that there's an inconsistency every time a certain individual or a certain port is landed.