Mr. Chair, I am very privileged to be here this evening to discuss the estimates. I am also privileged to be on the fisheries and oceans committee. Some would ask what a southwestern Ontario boy would be doing on that committee. For those who do not know, Chatham-Kent—Essex has the largest freshwater fishing port in the world.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is responsible for the management of freshwater and ocean reserves on behalf of Canadians. This work touches our country and its citizens from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia, from the Great Lakes to the high Arctic, but DFO also plays an important role in defending and advocating for our nation's interest in the international sphere.
Allow me to provide some information on DFO's international activities in support of the department's mandate.
Canada has three oceans, the world's longest coastline and a strong reliance on balancing use and conservation of our resources. This is true in both our national waters in areas beyond Canadian jurisdiction. Canada exports more than 80% of its fish and seafood, or $3.9 billion last year, which is Canada's largest food export. For these reasons, Canada influences international debate and practice in a strategic way.
Sustainability continues to be an important issue to Canadians and to many people around the globe. In fact the world has never been more attuned to its changing environment or more intent on conserving its resources. Consumers have become savvy.
In the case of world fisheries, the United Nations estimates that about 80% of them are fully exploited, overexploited or depleted. By the year 2030, there will be a shortfall of aquatic food in the neighbourhood of 30 million tonnes per year. Clearly, Canada has significant interests to protect and advance, and international engagement is critical.
DFO works in a complex policy and management field that involves multilateral, regional and bilateral work and is increasingly dominated by new players, power arrangements and new issues. Canada has interests to both advance and defend, to ensure ocean industries, particularly responsible fishing activities, remain viable.
DFO enforces Canada's domestic fisheries legislation in our national waters and takes part in the regional fisheries management organizations, RFMOs, such as the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization, NAFO, which manages fish stocks on the high seas outside Canada's 200 mile zone.
To guide its international work, DFO has several key priorities, including ending overfishing, improving the way the world manages high seas fish stocks and ensuring healthy ocean ecosystems. The department also works to help keep Canada safe and secure and helps ensure a well-functioning trading and commercial system that guards and protects Canada's interests.
Ultimately, DFO's international strategy considers all stages of the international fishery to support the long-term health of the world's shared oceans and fish stocks. It also helps ensure that the fishing sector can demonstrate its responsible use of the world's ocean resources. This ocean-to-plate concept incorporates sustainable fisheries, sustainable industry and sustainable ecosystems.
To advance Canada's objectives, our government builds relationships and strategic alliances with key countries, both developed and developing. This includes frequent informal contacts as well as formal meetings with key like-minded countries and decision makers.
Canada also presses the international community for improved sustainable oceans management at the United Nations and through other international organizations that allow us to urge action on overfishing and sustainable fisheries and defend against calls for actions that might gain media attention but are otherwise impractical.
In fact, DFO has achieved a remarkable degree of success over the last number of years in managing fisheries and oceans resources, in particular, advances in stopping foreign vessels from overfishing, which as mentioned, has been a key priority for our government. This government made a commitment to finally deal with the long-standing problem of weak rules and poor follow in NAFO. Canada had clear objectives and would not compromise.
As a result of Canada's strong enforcement presence, significant improvements to monitoring, control and surveillance measures adopted by NAFO in 2006 and strong cooperation between Canada and many fishing partners, there has been a steep decline in serious illegal fishing incidents in the NAFO regulatory area.
This drastic positive shift came about thanks to the determination that this government brought to the table in its talks with our international partners. Once common ground and a united sense of purpose were found, we were able to successfully tackle illegal overfishing for the long-term benefit of the stocks and harvesters alike. It was a promise kept.
Canada is also active in the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, ICCAT, and is pressing international partners for better management of eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna fisheries. Canada works with and encourages all ICCAT members to implement conservation and enforcement measures that will lead to better adherence to fisheries management rules.
Canada also works with its partners to support sustainable use of marine resources. Through the 2006 United Nations General Assembly sustainable fisheries resolution, states agreed on the need for better protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems, VMEs, from significant adverse impacts of bottom-contact fisheries. DFO played a leadership role during these negotiations to ensure that provisions would be practical and effective and is now playing a leading role in implementing these provisions in NAFO.
In particular, DFO has been instrumental in the successful adaptation of measures to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems such as seamounts and deep sea corals in the NAFO regulatory area. These new requirements for fishing vessels engaging in bottom-fishing activities are essential to ensure that fishing is responsible and respects the aquatic ecosystem. More and more, countries are becoming aware of the need to consider whole ecosystems when interacting with marine environments.
In addition to these very important efforts through international organizations, DFO has signed several memoranda of understanding, MOUs, with countries such as Portugal, Norway, Spain, Chile and Russia. These MOUs support Canada's own efforts to ensure the conservation and sustainable international management of global marine resources and to better control fisheries off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.
For example, DFO signed an MOU with Norway last May, which demonstrates the commitment of our two nations to work together in advancing technical, scientific, economic and enforcement activities. This agreement demonstrates how our government is working hand in hand with our Norwegian partners to address issues faced in our oceans, which touch Canadians from coast to coast. This shared experience and information benefit both countries and the international organizations to which we belong.
Another agreement with Chile involves aquaculture, an industry worth nearly $1 billion per year in Canada. The MOU signed in March 2008 strengthens our two countries' commitment to sustainable aquaculture development. DFO is working collaboratively on matters that touch the sector, including technical, scientific and economic issues, so that we can create an even more resilient and sustainable aquaculture industry.
Closer to home, our government promotes Canadian interests and negotiations with our neighbour to the south, the United States. DFO has successfully completed agreements on issues that touch both of our countries, including the recent renewal of the Canada-U.S. Pacific Albacore Tuna Treaty. Given the highly migratory nature of albacore tuna stocks, the tuna treaty allows Canada's tuna harvesters to fish and land their catches in the U.S. while also permitting American harvesters port privileges in our country.
DFO is continuing to monitor the harvest and is taking efforts to ensure that the stock is healthy and that the fishery is sustainable, which I am pleased to say is the case.
Earlier this year, our government also renewed parts of the Pacific Salmon Treaty that expired at the end of 2008. The renewal means Canada and the United States will continue their joint management of Pacific salmon resources. This supports the long-term conservation and sustainability of Pacific stock--