Mr. Speaker, in response to (a), Canada engages with Greenland through the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization, or NASCO, bilaterally, and works with key stakeholders to consistently press Greenland to reduce its removals to levels that support conservation. In 2015, Greenland agreed to institute a three-year plan and to limit its catch to 45 tonnes per year. At the June 2017 NASCO annual meeting, Canada encouraged Greenland to continue to not permit factory landings as it had done in 2016. Greenland retained this ban in 2017, and catches for each year were reported at 27 tonnes and 26.8 tonnes respectively, a significant reduction compared to the 58 tonnes, 13 tonnes overage, in 2015.
In August 2017, the Minister of Fisheries met bilaterally with Minister Kruse of Greenland and advanced Canada’s interests, including to strengthen monitoring control and surveillance measures, as well as lower annual catch levels of Atlantic salmon.
Canada continued to work with Greenland and other members at the NASCO West Greenland Commission meeting in February 2018, and negotiations of a new three-year regulatory measure will conclude in June 2018 at the annual meeting of NASCO.
In response to (b), no specific data is presently available regarding the impacts of Greenland’s measures.