Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans last Wednesday announced the results of a review of inactive groundfish licences following a meeting in Halifax with fishing industry representatives.
The minister agreed on new measures that would return frozen licences to groundfish fishermen who meet the following criteria.
They are head of an inactive multi-species fishing enterprise. They have fished full time for seven years and have made 75 per cent of earned income or recent annual enterprise revenues of $20,000 from fishing.
Earlier in the week the minister agreed to amend the seal licensing policy for eastern Canada to allow retired fishermen who are eligible for a sealing licence in 1993 to take up to six seals a year for personal use. This approach to the frozen inactive groundfish licence and to the seal licensing policy is a step in the direction of economic viability in the groundfish industry without jeopardizing conservation objectives. It moves toward the fishery of the future by promoting multi-species licensing.