Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the parliamentary secretary, the member for Bonaventure--Gaspé--Îles-de-la-Madeleine--Pabok.
I would like to thank the members opposite for their brilliant and nice words. I would like to thank the hon. member for St. John's West for bringing the debate to the floor of the House in such an intelligent manner and to such a high level. We are not all that far apart. We all see it the same way. We might have some differences in that one side governs and one side opposes and can be a little more critical. However I think what we want to achieve is quite similar.
Naturally, people will agree that our government takes these problems very seriously. As the Minister of ACOA, as a former municipal councillor, and as an entrepreneur, I recognize, as do all my colleagues, that there is a direct connection between the health of our fish stocks and of our fisheries and the health of the communities in our region and our country. It contributes to our economic and social vitality.
If the fisheries are threatened by foreign overfishing, then the future of these communities is directly threatened. We recently had an example of this. I am referring, of course to the situation in Canso, the difficulties of which are know to all of us. The member for St. John's West mentioned several other communities with the same problems, perhaps in varying degrees.
During a port inspection of the Russian vessel Olga , and again I want to congratulate the member opposite on his very good system for getting information quickly, my officials determined that the vessel had on board 49 tonnes of cod and 9 tonnes of skate that had been caught outside Canada's 200 mile limit.
The relative amount of cod on board clearly indicated a directed fishery for this species, which is contrary to the moratoria for all cod stocks in the NAFO regulated area. My officials have communicated the results of this incident to the Russian fisheries representative in Halifax and have asked for his immediate attention in this matter. We will also be bringing up this matter with the Russian authorities in Ottawa and Moscow.
For now the Olga remains in port as a result of recent Environment Canada charges on discharging a deleterious substance into Canadian waters. Officials will continue to monitor the vessel.
Incidents like this show clearly why countries must put up a common front to prevent overfishing.
Even though the Government of Canada is taking this problem very seriously, we are also aware that the issue is a complex one and cannot be resolved quickly. Nonetheless, we have made great progress in recent years.
For example, we played a key role in the negotiations leading up to the adoption and introduction of the UN fisheries agreement on straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks, the UNFA. We were among the first nations to sign this agreement in 1995. Quite simply, the UNFA sets out a large number of fish management principles, which Canada feels are important principles such as conservation and a precautionary approach.
The Olga incident proves once again that we must continue to apply pressure in order to incorporate these principles in all our policies and legislation as well as within regional fisheries organizations such as the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization.
Canada is not acting alone. In fact, foreign overfishing and non-compliance in the NAFO regulatory area are problems which countries the world over are facing, and not just Canada.
We are not letting the challenge stop us. To combat the problem of overfishing I am not ruling out any option at this time. For instance, I have heard the frustrations expressed by many in Newfoundland and Labrador about foreign non-compliance with the rules of NAFO. Several suggestions have been made, a few in the House today, on how to deal with this issue and we are evaluating all these suggestions now.
In the meantime I have asked Pat Chamut, my assistant deputy minister, fisheries management, to consult with Newfoundland and Labrador and industry on an urgent basis to develop options and provide me with recommendations on our next step.
My decision today to close Canadian ports to fishing vessels from the Faroe Islands is further proof that Canada is taking overfishing seriously. After continued violations of NAFO's conservation measures by vessels from the Faroe Islands, which are fishing shrimp beyond Canada's 200 miles limit, I announced today that Canada is closing its ports to all fishing vessels from the Faroe Islands.
While I cannot agree with the member for South Shore that it was because of the question yesterday by the member for St. John's West, I have to say his timing was incredible.
Canada will not tolerate the wilful abuse of NAFO quotas and rules that has been exhibited by this fleet. Let me add that my officials are closely monitoring the fishing activities of several other fleets. If there is evidence of non-compliance similar action is certainly an option.
At the most recent NAFO meeting which was held from January 29 to February 1 in Denmark we brought the problem of foreign overfishing to the table. We achieved positive results on a number of fronts. However some of our key conservation proposals did not meet with success.
Over the coming months my officials and I will be reviewing the results of that meeting and planning our next steps as we prepare for NAFO's annual meeting this coming September. We will be doing so in close consultation with the provinces concerned and with the fishing industry.
I can assure the House that we will work with our industry partners to put together the strongest case possible for the September meeting. Indeed involvement in NAFO affords Canada an important forum to voice our concerns over the fishing practices of foreign fleets as well as to develop solutions to these problems.
I thank my colleague, the member for Malpeque and chairman of the fisheries committee, as well as all members of the fisheries committee for the excellent work that has been done by the committee when it sat in Ottawa and travelled to eastern Canada to get opinions and suggestions from the communities most directly affected.
While I look forward to reviewing the standing committee's report on the issue I would like to add that a unilateral move by Canada to extend its jurisdiction over fisheries would be inconsistent with accepted international law. I assure the House, however, that I will use any other tool at my disposal to stop overfishing outside Canada's 200 mile limit.
All Canadians depend on DFO to manage this resource on their behalf responsibly and with an eye to the future. As minister I take this responsibility very seriously. I stand today in the House to make clear that I will not tolerate the systematic abuse of NAFO's quotas and rules by any country. I will take whatever steps necessary to ensure that this abuse is stopped now and in the years to come.
