Madam Chair, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans plays an important role in protecting our nation's waterways and aquatic ecosystems. DFO is working hard to advance Canada's interests in these areas through scientific research and making sound decisions and policies based on science.
An important part of the department's work is understanding Canada's unique aquatic environments and how our actions affect them. DFO depends on its scientific institutes, labs and centres of expertise for vital information to make the decisions that are both environmentally sound and economically prosperous.
I will now talk about science at DFO, as well as how the department puts science to use. DFO-led scientific research is continuing to make strides in understanding our oceans and freshwaters, from locating natural resources to identifying areas that need special protection, such as the department's work with provincial and territorial partners in our marine protected areas.
Our government has made strides in this work through the announcement of marine protected areas, including Bowie Seamount in the Pacific and Musquash Estuary off the coast of New Brunswick. Facilities such as the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, the Pacific Biological Station and the Maurice Lamontagne Institute play an integral role in the department's work. The data they produce creates the groundwork for DFO's policies and regulations. They are essential for the department's ability to deliver results for Canadians.
Scientists are an integral part of DFO but they are also a part of the broader scientific community. Scientists around the world share a commitment to advancing our understanding of the world around us and DFO scientists regularly receive international accolades.
Along with fostering scientific knowledge and supporting effective policies, the research conducted by DFO can lead to successful commercial applications. For example, DFO scientists contributed to the development of the autonomous underwater recorder for acoustic learning. This tool monitors and records underwater sounds, including the sounds of marine mammals and the noise generated by marine traffic. This was commercialized and generated enough sales in the first two years to repay the initial investment tenfold.
Further, the department's science and resource experts are working on the elaboration of DFO's plan for sustainable fisheries. Building on these policies and incorporating new ones, DFO's plan forms the basis for implementing an approach to the management of our marine fisheries that focuses on ecosystems. This ensures a sound basis for sustainable fisheries management in Canada.
One important organization that calls DFO home is the Canadian Hydrographic Service. Canada has more than 130,000 nautical miles of coastline, which is more than any other country in the world. With 300 dedicated employees distributed across Canada, this service publishes and maintains nearly 1,000 nautical charts, as well as hundreds of publications. It gives our government great pride to say these products are renowned the world over for their quality.
The data collected by the service is essential to understanding our waters. With access to Canadian Coast Guard ships, the service takes advantage of every opportunity to take hydrographic and oceanographic measurements. Regular field surveys, especially for higher risk, higher priority areas, with both shore parties and marine vessels, include specialized hydrographic craft.
Most recently, the service completed surveys of the deeply complex Labrador inshore route. This was a significant accomplishment and the CHS employees deserve our congratulations for their fine work.
The Canadian Hydrographic Service contributes to the safe navigation of Canada's waterways and uses the latest technology to collect high-resolution data. The service monitors tides and water levels to collect information on our climate and natural hazards, and plays a role in determining maritime boundaries and Canadian sovereignty.
While it is important to continue pressing forward in our understanding of our aquatic resources, we must also work to conserve and protect them. One way to do this is by upholding the legislation and regulations that set the rules for the wild capture fishing industry.
DFO takes these rules seriously. In fact, Canada has one of the most advanced monitoring, control and surveillance programs in the world. To enforce compliance and preserve fish stocks, DFO uses aerial and at-sea patrols to monitor fishing vessel activity inside and outside our 200 mile limit. We track catches using independent onboard observers, as well as electronic and dock-side monitoring.
These enforcement systems are important, but of course they require personnel. We have world-class fisheries officers who go through a three year training program. They are the front line. They conduct patrols on the land, on the sea and in the air. They work in every kind of weather, in rough terrain, on sea, and board vessels in dangerous conditions. These officers are protecting the interests of Canadians and helping advance key priorities, such as eliminating illegal fishing activities and demonstrating the importance of conservation and protection.
DFO has hired 153 new fisheries officers in the last three years. This hiring is an expansion and a significant improvement made by the Conservative government, which reverses a trend that existed under the previous Liberal government that allowed the number of fisheries officers to shrink. This government understands the importance of proper enforcement in our Canadian waters and we are taking this responsibility seriously.
DFO's scientific research and conservation and protection efforts play an important role in managing our waters and resources. Our government knows they are an important part of Canadian identity. We work together with other levels of government, partner with industry and organizations, preserve and protect our ocean and freshwater, and encourage the sustainability of fisheries.
We will maintain DFO's position as a leader in science and continue using the knowledge gained from our research to inform decisions and policies so that we can continue to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of our children and grandchildren to meet their own needs.
I would like to conclude by talking about a very sustainable fishery in my own backyard, which is the integrated ground fishery on the west coast. It is considered to be a sustainably managed, transparent, accountable and progressive fishery. This was implemented in 2006 and we are into year four now. The world has noticed the camera monitored, dock-side observer and independent audit within a scientifically determined total allowable catch. The transferable quota mechanisms that are now built into this fishery create total accountability, eliminate the old problem of discards and allow for an extended season so that the commercial boats can harvest at opportune times chosen by them, which has led to higher value production.
Canadians should be very proud of this fishery which was implemented and is now considered to be the most sustainably managed commercial fishery anywhere in the world.
We do not blow our own horn enough, and I am attempting to do just that.
I hope my speech in some way has made it clearer to members about how the department uses science and conservation and protection efforts to support the Conservative government's vision for fisheries.
Canada's coastline is vast and diverse, from the Pacific shoreline of rugged mountains, inlets and fjords, to the Arctic's complex food web and habitats, to the wide continental shelf of the Atlantic.
There is a piece of legislation that is key to governing our oceans. It is known as the Oceans Act. Could the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans share how this government is implementing the Oceans Act?
