Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his tireless advocacy on behalf of the hard-working fish harvesters in Bonavista—Burin—Trinity.
Sustaining healthy and protected fisheries, which many communities depend on, is a top priority for this government and we rely on the best available science when making management decisions. Support and confidence in science models and assessments used to determine stock health is critically important, particularly to those whose livelihoods will be impacted by the results and outcomes, so we will be convening a small group of scientists, as requested by the industry, to provide a consensus-based analysis of our assessment models for 3Ps cod over the summer.
We will continue to consult with harvesters on the path forward for this—