Mr. Speaker, on March 13, I asked the fisheries minister if he intended to raise the issue of so-called accidental fishing during negotiations with the Americans and whether he would start enforcing Canada's territorial waters and fine the American fishermen who illegally took our fish.
I also mentioned that the Conservative government was in treaty negotiations with the United States over Pacific salmon rights. Reports that American pollock fishers accidentally caught 130,000 Chinook, a full half of those fish from Canadian waters, is unacceptable. Canada's Chinook is at an all time low and working families and fishing communities are struggling to make ends meet.
The minister said that the government had already addressed the issue, that the amount of bycatch was unacceptable and that the government had made that quite clear to the Americans.
It is good to know that the issue was raised with our friends south of the border but he left Canadian fishermen with no guarantees that it will not happen again.
It is also interesting to note that the minister referred to a historical part of our heritage and an economic way of life for people of the Pacific south coast as “bycatch”, a term that seems to suggest that the fish that were caught are an unwanted commodity. It may be to pollock fishermen but to the people who feed their families and depend on the Chinook salmon for their financial well-being, bycatch hardly reflects the importance of these fish.
The United States recently issued a closure for Chinook, or King salmon, for California, Oregon and Washington. Now I am hearing disturbing news that it is currently in negotiations with our government in an effort to obtain Canadian fishing rights.
I am hearing from the Pacific south coast region that the Americans have put $20 million to $30 million on the table in the negotiation process. I am hearing that moneys collected will be used to subsidize the DFO budget and allow it to expand its research on the changing ocean climate, research on low escapement estimates and the salmon enhancement program.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is a Canadian government institution. Why would we even consider using American government funds for Canadian government initiatives?
The Pacific Salmon Commission's mandate is to create a mechanism for discussion between Canada and the United States around the salmon stock that we share because of the natural migratory path of the species. It also has a mandate to establish and enforce conservation to ensure the future of the species. As a commission, it identifies the issues and each country creates management policies. This mechanism was established to protect each country's sovereignty, a sovereignty that we are watching disappear right before our eyes.
Through discussions with a variety of stakeholder groups, it has now become apparent that DFO funding for many years now has been insufficient for the Pacific region.
The valuable salmon enhancement program is struggling due to cuts and the lack of a funding increase. The funding is still at 1999 levels. The hatcheries in B.C. have to contend with escalating costs and are cutting programs that would assist the salmon industry by enhancing declining stocks.
We need to do everything we can to increase salmon populations on the west coast. Habitat protection, science and enforcement are also DFO departments that have seen a decline in resources in the recent past.
Could the minister confirm that negotiations are taking place between Canada and the U.S.A. with regard to the purchase of Pacific salmon rights in Canadian waters and will he guarantee that he will protect Canadian sovereignty and ensure that the rights of Canadian fishermen are protected? Also--