moved:
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should implement a program to reduce the effort on the Atlantic Lobster Fishery to ensure a viable industry for future generations with a lobster license retirement plan, and provide adequate funding to remove a number of lobster fleets from the water by cancelling licenses.
It is a pleasure to stand in the House today but I stand here with some great concern as the lobster industry is so vitally important for the Atlantic region and my riding. What must happen is we need to reduce the effort.
I have the privilege of representing a great area in Atlantic Canada in eastern Prince Edward Island, the riding of Cardigan that has been very kind to send me back to the House a number of times. It is an area that is heavily dependent on agriculture, fisheries and tourists.
Without a doubt, there are big problems in the fishery this year. There are also problems in the agricultural field. Potato growers and vegetable growers are having a lot of difficulty. However, in the fishing industry there is a problem. Over the years we have seen a decline in the species and in other species and because of this we have placed more emphasis on the lobster. This has placed great stress in the fishery and the landings have declined over the past years, especially in lobster fishing areas or LFAs which I represent.
I can recall, when I became involved in politics over 20 years ago, visiting different harbours across eastern Prince Edward Island. We have two different areas, 24 and 26A. Area 26A is referred to by most people in Prince Edward Island where I live as the south side.
When I was looking for the nomination in Cardigan, I was touring these harbours and talking to the fishermen. The catches at that time were somewhere between 20,000 and 25,000 pounds for a lot of fishermen, and that is great fishing. Now some of these fishermen catch 4,000 to 6,000 pounds.
We must remember that there is a major change in the cost of operating fleets now from the mid-eighties and the late eighties when I was talking to these fishermen.
I would like to quote from a presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans that was presented on March 31 of this year at Pooles Corner presented by Bobby Jenkins representing the Southern Kings and Queens Fishermen's Association. It is so important that we get information, as we would say where I come from, the horse's mouth. The fact is that these people know what is going on and it was great to have my colleagues there. Mr. Jenkins said:
Let me give you a few examples of how our costs have increased and how our income has shrunk to dangerously low levels, a few examples of costs, say, 10 years ago and today. Item one is bait. Ten years ago it was 15¢ a pound; today it's 75¢ to 90¢ a pound. We use approximately 1,500 pounds a week. Multiply it by nine. Labour was $400 a week 10 years ago and it's $800 to $1,200 a week now, average 10 to 12 weeks. Fuel 10 years ago was 20¢ to 25¢ a litre; now it's 70¢ to $1.40 per litre. We use 200 to 400 litres per day. Insurance rates 10 years ago were $400 a year; today they are $3,500.
For docking fees, what one did 10 years ago was pull one's boat in and tie it up. Today people pay somewhere between $700 and $1,000. All these expenses add up. It takes from the bottom line.
Maintenance 10 years ago was $2,000; today, it's $5,000 to $7,000. A new propeller 10 years ago would cost $500; today it's $1,500 to $2,000. You could build a trap 10 years ago for $20; it's $60 now.
As we can see, the costs have skyrocketed over the past 10 years and, as was indicated at the standing committee, the prices have declined substantially. For example, the following was said at the standing committee:
Our lobster prices have been shrinking. In 2005-06, we received $5.50 a pound for canners and about $6 a pound for markets. In 2008, we received $4.25 a pound for canners and $4.50 for markets, with no rebates. In 2009, we have heard of prices of less than $3 a pound for canners and maybe $3.50 for markets.
The prices, of course, depend on supply and demand and lobster is a luxury item in restaurants.
With a reduction in fleets, there will also be a reduction in the requirement for the people who help. I want to indicate to the House that there is a lot more to this than the man who owns the boat and the captain involved. We have the people who supply the bait, people who drive the trucks and people who work in the factories. When a licence for the boat is taken out, the captain always had people who we refer to as the corps and these people will not have a job if this should work. This will work one way or the other. Either we will have no lobster left in certain areas or there will be a reduction in the traps in the sea.
I want to indicate to the government and to the members of this House that I want to be sure that HRSDC remembers not only the fishing problem but the people who work for the fishery in Atlantic Canada.
As vice-chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, I was pleased to travel across Atlantic Canada and Quebec and to hear first-hand from the industry. I hope it will provide some insight for the members of the committee, as well. We received well-thought-out presentations and great detail on the state of the lobster fishery in Atlantic Canada and the concern for the future of the lobster fishery in Atlantic Canada.
I have been hearing those concerns long before the committee toured the east coast, which is why I suggested the committee hold hearings and why I am moving this motion in this House today. I am trying to take some pressure off the dwindling lobster stocks and, in turn, hopefully provide a reasonable option for fishers who want to retire or fishers who cannot make ends meet and want to go to another career.
If there is a program implemented that would be a reduction in effort on the Atlantic lobster stock, then this would be of great value to the industry. It would mean that we would have an industry for generations to come. What I hope is that the members of the standing committee, and I am sure they did, will come to realize the great concern they have in Atlantic Canada. Most of the area I represent is rural and the inshore fisherman is vital for the economy of the area I represent.
I also want to bring to the attention of the members a problem that can even escalate the problem in the fishery. It is the funding for the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation, which is very important centre. I have seen some of the work that it has done and it has done a lot of work to preserve stocks and ensure the fishing operations are done well. It also has done a lot of work on how to handle lobster, how to prepare the meat and how to ensure we export a much better product. What we want to do is ensure that if we export less lobster or less fish we take care of it in the best way possible. That is why I urge the government to ensure that this centre is properly funded.
Times have changed in the past 25 years and technology has improved when it comes to fishing lobsters. That is why new technologies are so important. It also means the introduction of modern methods of surveying the bottom to see rock formations and being able to determine the best areas for lobster habitat and to set the traps. With all this technology, people know exactly where the lobsters are and therefore, if people are not careful, it is much easier to deplete the stock. All I want to do is make sure there are fewer traps on the sea bottom and that lobsters have a chance to continue and not be depleted.
In Atlantic Canada the fish species have been in decline and it is getting to the point of some stocks being in danger of being depleted. We do not want this to happen to our lobster stocks. The fact that other stocks are in decline forces more fishers to turn to lobster as a major part of their yearly income. This has placed an additional stress on the lobster stock. Now is the time to act before it is too late. This is why I moved the motion to get support from the House and the government to act now before it is too late, to make a commitment to ensure a number of our fishers can exit the fishery and reduce the pressure on the stock so that we will have a viable industry for many years to come.
Let us not wait until the lobster fishers are faced with the same decline as the cod fishermen were in Atlantic Canada. Everyone knows how long it has been since the cod stocks were in good shape. In fact, they are not in good shape to this day. Fishermen listening to or watching what is happening in the House of Commons are certainly aware of a major issue that existed in my riding of Cardigan and the Souris area.
Members of Parliament have to push, in my opinion. There were times when people did not have the same view that I had. Not everyone had the same view when the herring fishery was being depleted in eastern Prince Edward Island. There was great support from my district and I pushed as hard as I could. With a lot of effort and a lot of work, we were able to save the herring stocks.
There is a still a big problem. There is still difficulty for lobster fishers to get enough bait. As most people who are involved in the fishery know, herring is the food fishery for all the fish in the sea. I remember when the trucks, perhaps 25 or 30 16-wheelers, left the town of Souris. That is pretty hard to accept. With a lot of effort, we stopped that. I thank everybody that was involved. That is what we do not want to happen today. When the bottom is covered with traps and the catch is going down, we want to make sure we do something for the fishermen.
In the riding of Cardigan there are two lobster areas. One is LFA 24 in the spring season, May and June, where the fishers set their traps in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, from East Point to North Cape. There is another area on the other side of Prince Edward Island where fishers set their traps in the Northumberland Strait. This area, as I indicated before, is LFA 26A. It is generally referred to as the south side.
We do not want to see a repeat of what took place in the herring fishery and the cod fishery. We want action by the government today, as soon as possible.
The Speaker has indicated that I am running out of time, but I have so much to say.
To give everyone a picture, even if fishermen go broke, the fact is their licences are assets. The bank takes them and sells the licences to somebody else and the stock continues to be depleted. I urge the government to make sure that this practice stops.