Mr. Speaker, crab fishing season has begun, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada has allocated 32,000 tonnes of crab to the fishers. The fishers have chosen to increase their landings this spring and shorten the fishing season, thereby preventing workers from qualifying for EI. This is unacceptable and disgraceful.
My question is for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. Does the government consider it acceptable to send crab to the trash, or will it manage the vessels' fishing trips in order to avoid the unacceptable waste of this perishable resource?