Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague, the hon. member for St. John's West, for his interest in foreign overfishing.
I am aware that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador are very concerned about this issue. Personally, even though I am not assigned to this department, I am pleased to speak on behalf of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and also on behalf of his very available parliamentary secretary, the hon. member for Bonaventure—Gaspé—Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Pabok, both of whom are working very hard together on this issue.
I had the opportunity just this afternoon to read an article in Québec Science that referred to the drastic decline in fish stocks off our coasts. The cod stocks dropped from between 40,000 and 100,000 tonnes per year to 6,000 or 7,000 tonnes.
With respect to foreign fishers' lack of compliance with NAFO regulations, I am happy to have the opportunity to talk about this issue. I would like to ensure my colleague that this is an issue that is being taken very seriously by the government.
Indeed, there have been orders to close the ports to foreign fleets, including the Estonian fleet, because it did not respect NAFO conservation regulations and measures.
We also take into account the fact that the Russian authorities have decided to cancel for the rest of the year the licence allowing the Olga to fish in the NAFO regulated area. We will investigate further the activities of this vessel.
Canada will not tolerate intentional violations of NAFO quotas and regulations by these fleets. DFO officials will continue to monitor fishing activities in the NAFO regulated area to ensure compliance.
However, as far as Russian trawler Tynda is concerned, the situation is different. So far, no violation to Canadian or NAFO regulations have been observed. Moreover, the Tynda 's manifest, which was reproduced in the Telegram , contained absolutely no indication of any illegal activity.
At present, there is no restriction on the minimum size of redfish, which is the main species captured by the Tynda . Redfish in the southern part of the Grand Banks are 19 to 28 centimetres long and weight between 100 and 200 grams. This tallies with the Tynda 's manifest. The size of the fish found on this vessel is not unusual for this species.
In the case of many fisheries, the fish are small. The 30 redfish caught by all fishing fleets, including the Canadian one, both in Canadian waters and beyond, were usually very small. We always take into account the small size of species such as this one when we conduct a scientific assessment of the stocks. In the case of the Tynda , the fish landings fully complied with Canadian legislation and with NAFO's conservation measures.
As for the other species caught by the Tynda , including the cod south of the Grand Banks or the 3N0 cod, for which a moratorium is currently in effect, a 5% bycatch is authorized, in compliance with NAFO's conservation measures.
The bycatch caught by this ship was well below this limit. Again, this ship did not do anything illegal. It was not involved in any illegal fishing activity.
Canadians put their trust the Department of Fisheries and Oceans when it comes to managing the resource on their behalf, and to manage it in a responsible way, while keeping in mind the needs of future generations.
In the meantime, I can assure hon. members that officials from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans will continue to closely monitor and evaluate the fishing activities of all the fleets and, if necessary, they will take appropriate measures. They will continue to use the means available to them to put an end to overfishing beyond Canada's 200 mile limit.