Mr. Speaker, the fishers of Montmorency—Charlevoix, and particularly those from Isle-aux-Coudres who are the subject of today's petition, are facing a situation that makes no sense. The number of striped bass, which is a protected but unregulated species, has increased so much that it is now destroying the entire ecosystem of the St. Lawrence River. Striped bass are out of control, and they are very efficient predators. They attack herring, smelt, even crabs, lobsters and now salmon. They are so plentiful that fishers are unable to fish their quota despite having paid for a licence. The entire local economy and the balance of the river are at risk.
I have tried several times to discuss the issue with the Minister of Fisheries. My requests have been completely ignored. I received no response to the official letter I sent her. Faced with this lack of response, locals are now taking action with this petition. Their demands are clear: act quickly, work with local fishers to find concrete solutions and allow striped bass sport fishing in order to get the situation back under control.
The government must take action, help our fishers, help our local economy and regain control of a good idea that has gone awry, as is too often the case under the Liberals.