Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I don't know if the vice-chairs Mr. Hoback or Ms. Ramsey are present today.
We thank you for the invitation to appear before the committee today.
For a dozen years or so, I have worked for the Maritime Fishermen's Union in Shediac, New Brunswick. That is where the head office is located. We represent coastal fishers on New Brunswick's east coast and three regions in Nova Scotia, including Cape Breton—we work with Ms. Ludwig, who is a member of your committee—Pictou and Antigonish, as well as the southwestern regions of Nova Scotia, at the other end of the province.
We represent more than 1,300 fishers of lobster, herring, halibut and a multitude of other coastal species. We also represent fishers who are owner-operators. They are the owners of their businesses and operate their own boat. These people live in the community, spend their income there and live in the regions to see them develop.
This is very important, helps hundreds of communities in the Atlantic provinces to live, to grow and to be dynamic. Without this industry, it would be very difficult to live in the Atlantic provinces, especially now, because the economic situation is difficult. I also include Quebec, because fishing is very important there. Obviously, Pacific regions must be included as well. This region is a little less well known, even though there is often contact with people from there.
I would like to highlight that I am also the president of the Canadian Independent Fish Harvesters Federation, an organization that includes all of these fishers' organizations, such as the Maritime Fishermen's Union, and represents more than 7,000 independent fishers. They own and operate their boats in Canada in the five provinces on the Atlantic coast, as well as in western Canada.
We support reducing barriers and tariffs throughout the world, especially for our most important fisheries. Above all, our fishers harvest lobster and crustaceans. That's very important, particularly because this harvest is meant to be exported. Indeed, lobsters and shellfish are for the most part sold outside of Canada. Any reduction in existing tariff barriers increases the potential sale of species that are the most important for our fishers. This improves both the value of products and Canada's competitiveness in the seafood sector.
I would like to share with you some statistics and their meaning. It is somewhat sad—I need to emphasize this very strongly—that the fishing industry is one of the most underestimated industries in Canada, when it is one of the industries with the most potential in the country. That has been the case for several years, because fishing depends on highly unpredictable marine environments. It is very difficult to conduct scientific studies when one is talking about the sea. Things are not visible or easy to access. The environment is very unpredictable, because there are many predators and many other activities that occur in the sea. Also, certain humans have an impact on our fisheries.
It is very important to highlight both the importance and the potential of fisheries.
Over most of the last 50 years, there have been highs and lows, but it has been proven that today, the potential is huge.
Let's just look at lobster as an example. In 2014, the amount of lobster fished reached 352 million pounds. The value of lobster in Canada—or rather, I should say the Atlantic, because it is fished there for the most part—has now reached $1.5 billion. That represents an increase of about 33% over the last five years. It is unpredictable, but the potential is huge.