Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to rise in the House today during adjournment proceedings. This is a follow-up to my question on December 11, 2015 regarding the need to end the current monopoly on the lucrative Arctic surf clam fishery in Atlantic Canada.
In July 2015, under the previous Conservative government, the former minister of fisheries and oceans, Gail Shea, announced an increase in the total allowable catch, or TAC, for offshore Arctic surf clams from 38,756 tonnes to 52,655 tonnes. Assessing the stocks on both Banquereau and Grand Bank, Department of Fisheries and Oceans scientists deemed the populations to be healthy and sustainable.
This was great news for Atlantic Canadians. The surf clam fishery is estimated to be worth over $60 million. The increase in TAC would allow for new entrants into the fishery, breaking the current monopoly held by a single company, Clearwater Seafoods, creating new jobs and economic benefits.
The CEO of Ocean Choice, Martin Sullivan, said this of the announcement:
The decision to expand the Offshore Clam fishery will have a very positive impact on rural communities in Newfoundland & Labrador and Nova Scotia. We would like to thank the Government for listening to stakeholders by growing this fishery while maintaining a strong commitment to sustainability of the resource.
Jim Kennedy, owner of Louisbourg Seafoods, said:
This licence should be a $30-million-a-year business. It would bring an enormous boost to the economy in Cape Breton Island and to the workers.
By early December, the town of Burin in Newfoundland and Labrador and Cooke Clam Group had joined a growing list of municipalities and companies urging the new Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard to follow through on the scientific advice provided by his own department.
The proposal by Cooke Clam Group, a Canadian-owned joint venture between Cooke Seafood Inc., Brian McNamara and Miawpukek First Nation, promised to create 100 jobs in the region of Burin.
Unfortunately, on December 18, Friday afternoon and a week before Christmas, the minister announced that he would not follow through on the expert advice of his own department and would not increase the Arctic surf clam TAC. To date, the minister has failed to provide the scientific reasoning for making this decision.
The consequences of the minister's decision will be felt throughout Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia in lost jobs and lost economic opportunities. The minister has decided instead to protect the monopoly, to protect a single company, Clearwater Seafoods, a company that despite having the sole right to this fishery regularly fails to make use of its full quota.
Will the parliamentary secretary explain to this House and Atlantic Canadians why the government has chosen to ignore the scientific advice from DFO, why it is protecting a monopoly, and why it will not stand up for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia to create these new jobs?