Mr. Speaker, last Friday afternoon, inshore crab fishers in areas 8A and 9A were informed that they must relocate their crab pots from specific coordinates this week to make way for the laying of a subsea cable. These fishers are concerned about the potential damage to the environment and to the crab habitat. The timing could not be worse. It is halfway through the season. Some crab are spawning, and the potential destruction to gear could be costly.
Could the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans act immediately to stop this cable from being laid on the ocean floor while there are pots in the water, and will she share the information DFO has on the potential destruction of the crab habitat?