Robert Thibault

[Fisheries and Oceans, May 6th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the House and the member will know that we are constantly evaluating our services to see that they are current, to ensure that we are using our resources appropriately.

Some waterways are no longer used commercially by a wide variety of people or there are single users. We attempt in those cases to divest them to the local communities or to other interests prior to removing the buoys.

[Fisheries, May 6th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, again the member is obviously wrong. The quota in area 29 was set in accordance with recommendations by science at a very safe level in an emerging fishery and access was given to coastal fishermen as well as the full bay scallop fishermen who have traditionally been fishing in the inshore areas and midshore areas off Nova Scotia.

[Fisheries, May 6th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the member should know, as the industry certainly does, that we have said from the very beginning and in the last months as we negotiated over a six month period that, should we get a co-management agreement with a good white crab protocol, we could safely increase the quota. We have not changed our opinion. If we can get a co-management agreement, we can have access to additional allocations.

[Fisheries, May 6th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the House that the provinces are always consulted, as is the industry. Before announcing the crab fishing plan for the Gulf, we consulted with the industry, the six associations that represent the offshore fishers, the seven or eight organizations that represent inshore fishers, and the five provinces involved, and made a decision that was in the best interest of long-term industry stability and resource protection.

[Fisheries, May 6th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I would invite the member to go to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and meet with the ministers of fisheries of the five provinces that are involved in the crab fishery and other fisheries there. I challenge him to come up with a solution that is agreeable to all.

We manage the fishery in the best interests of the stocks, which is in the interests of the communities in the long run.

[Fisheries, May 5th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the member gives the false impression that the stocks are in poor condition. The stocks are in very good condition. They are in their normal cycles. They go up and down. We have the possibility of increasing the yield with a good co-management agreement.

There was a heavy concentration of white, soft shell crab in area 18. It was in the best interest of everybody concerned that the harvest be done in areas where the crab was in better condition, and let the white shell crab grow. We did not increase the effort on the total population. We kept it stable.

[Fisheries, May 5th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, for nearly a year now I have been consulting with the fishing industry, indicating to the permanent fleet that it was in the best interests of all to give temporary fishermen a permanent basis to address the perennial requests for additional quotas that we receive every spring. Every fishery in the gulf that was in difficulty would want a larger share of the gulf crab industry.

We wanted to stabilize that. We announced a permanent share at the lower end of the scale at 23%. We provided 12.5% of the allocation to the fishery and invited the traditional industry to negotiate the co-management agreement whereby we could increase their allocations by 2,000 to 4,000 tonnes.

[Fisheries, May 5th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the member would know that this area was open to the Full Bay fleet prior to my election. After scientific work was done in that area, it showed that there was sustainable stock. It has been shared with inshore fishers from that region. It is very profitable. It is positive news for the coastal communities to have a new and emerging fishery that we can manage within stocks and maintain for the future.

[Fisheries, May 5th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows full well that the seal quota was raised to 975,000 over three years. Last year, the management methods were upgraded. We ensured that for the first or second time in 25 years, our 275,000 seal quota was reached and even exceeded.

We are being asked to assign quotas individually for each business in that region. That is unusual. However, as I indicated in this House last week, because we are dealing with a disadvantaged community, that I am prepared to look into the matter.

[Fisheries, May 1st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, this winter, I announced that seal quotas would increase significantly—by 975,000 over three years. These quotas are being apportioned within the various regions through regional discussions.

I am prepared to listen, however, if the hon. member has a proposal for me, and I will consider it fully.