Madam Speaker, I welcome the opportunity to address the issues raised by my colleague, the hon. member for Courtenay—Alberni.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada is aware that many fish harvesters on the west coast are facing economic challenges. That is why, in February, the Minister of Fisheries announced two new objectives to guide the licensing reform work happening under the west coast commercial fisheries modernization initiative. These objectives are to support working harvesters so they have more control over their fishing activities and keep a greater share of the benefits from their fishing effort, and to modernize the licensing regime to support harvesters in pursuing their business objectives and adapting to change.
Work is already under way. The government is engaging on fishery-specific policy options to achieve these objectives, starting with the crab and prawn fisheries. As part of this effort, DFO is gathering perspectives on the feasibility and implications of various policy options, such as made-in-B.C. versions of owner-operator and fleet separation requirements, and other ideas raised by participants and harvesters. DFO will also launch a survey of licence and quota holdings and leasing agreements to ensure that policies are informed by robust and current data.
The government understands the challenges that harvesters are facing, but those who rely on the fishery have told us that a cookie-cutter approach will not suffice. Careful consideration will be given to different ways that fisheries have evolved in British Columbia compared to on the east coast, when contemplating owner-operator type requirements or other policy ideas that can support active harvesters and the flow of benefits to local communities.
The government knows how important it is for Canada's fisheries resources to stay in the hands of Canadians. That is why we completed a beneficial ownership survey in 2022 to learn more about foreign participation in Canadian fisheries. While the results told us that 98% of respondents reported being Canadian-owned, we are conducting further research and analysis to deepen our understanding about who actually is benefiting from Canada's west coast fisheries.
DFO believes in transparency of fisheries data and is actively working to improve data transparency for the benefit of active harvesters, new fishery participants and all Canadians. We have published interactive socio-economic data dashboards for fishery participants to learn more about the economics of their fisheries, and we are collecting more socio-economic data. We have also taken steps to make public data sets more accessible by publishing a web-based portal to facilitate access to publicly available licences and quota information.
The Government of Canada remains committed to supporting the economic health and prosperity of coastal communities that rely on fishery resources. We know that fishing activities are an important cultural and economic feature of many coastal communities in B.C. The government will not take a one-size-fits-all approach.
The west coast commercial fisheries modernization initiative will provide important opportunities for first nations and fishery participants to shape the future of licensing policy, ensuring that any policy changes are practical, effective, and suited and tailored to the west coast context, not a replica of the east coast.