Fisheries committee  I think it's both. I don't think it's clear. There was confusion in the policy as we went from 1996 to 2007. There was confusion in terms of who was in and who was out, and what the expectation was. In regard to the Ernst & Young report you referred to, the province was distinct at that time not to have a review of the current policy, because we didn't think the current policy was accurate.

Fisheries committee  Yes.

Fisheries committee  I agree that all players within an economic model, whether it's the fishery or any other industry, need to know, or have the normal expectation that if they invest, they're stakeholders and expect to have a return. So in that environment I think stable policy is very much needed, but when policy evolves....

Fisheries committee  You've identified some of them in terms of science. There's also a quota of 500 tonnes, a small quota, farther up north, as well. Some of those aren't being fully utilized. If you go back to 2007 and look at the threshold at that point in time when that commitment was made.... In terms of figuring out equitable allocation of the resource, we could look at the threshold for the inshore based on what it was in 2007 when they made that commitment and they became full stakeholders, certainly, in the resource.

Fisheries committee  Well, if you're talking about a specific species, as we are here about shrimp, we know where the species is being harvested. We know the degree and the volume of area we're talking about. We need to come up with a fair way or an expectation of how we survey those particular areas and come up with the best idea we can.

Fisheries committee  As a province or government, we've certainly supported the sealing industry, as you know. We've continued to support it. We've worked with Carino, the only producer in the province right now, in terms of seal pelts and getting them to market. We believe, again, that they are a key part of the ecosystem.

Fisheries committee  That was in the recommendation, was it? Where did I say that?

Fisheries committee  The committee is calling on the federal government to carry out an immediate full scientific assessment of the northern shrimp resource, and a full assessment should occur annually during the time of the apparent resource decline. The committee also strongly believes that quotas must be determined by full scientific reviews and not surveys.

Fisheries committee  Do you want to talk to that?

Fisheries committee  It's something we can certainly look at, something that we as a province would certainly entertain with DFO. I know right now that my officials certainly share with DFO some of the science that we have, when there are consultations back and forth in regards to that science. If there's something we could do, like a partnership together, we're certainly open to that.

Fisheries committee  I think as a province, we've certainly supported MSC certification and what it means for sustainability of any species. When you look at it from a business perspective, in terms of marketing to other nations and the recognitions given to MSC.... So I think we would agree with your statement.

Fisheries committee  Yes.

Fisheries committee  What trawl sets zones...? What zones were trawl sets in?

Fisheries committee  My understanding, and I could be proven wrong, is that in all of these eight zones we haven't seen sufficient research to get a good understanding of the biomass. There's been research done in particular zones, but we're saying that's not good enough. When you look at the region on this map that produces the shrimp resource, we need an evaluation of all of those zones to get a true reflection of what the biomass is, understanding as well that this year there was an updated survey done.

Fisheries committee  Mr. Cleary, your first question is related to capacity or what else is available for the inshore fisher to move on to from where we're at today. There are other species certainly, whelk, sea cucumber, mackerel, herring, turbot, that make up that enterprise, but for someone who holds the shrimp allocation, access to the inshore is extremely important.