Fisheries committee  I think it would. Actually, especially concerning the U.S., I think we're building towards that for the winter of 2022. There are some traceability components we're going to have to meet, and stuff like that. Again, that will be a work in progress. We might have to do a lot mor

Fisheries committee  It's being looked at, but it could be years before it's fully implemented.

Fisheries committee  Yes.

Fisheries committee  It's so hard, as I indicated to Mr. Fraser, to put a number on it. There seems to be an uptick in all the fisheries, mainly because of the value of the product, whether it be a finfish like halibut, or crab or lobster. The value of them is going up, which is good for the industry

Fisheries committee  Absolutely. This fishery alone, in LFA 34, is worth approximately $400 million on the shore. LFA 34 will land somewhere in the range of 50 million pounds a year. The average price fluctuates somewhat, but it's worth $400 million, and that's on the shore. I tend to think that the

Fisheries committee  It really has to be firmed up. The penalty has to cause somewhat of a hardship to the individual in stuff like this. I mean—

Fisheries committee  I don't know how high to go, Mr. Fraser—

Fisheries committee  No. Even the repeat offenders, Mr. Fraser, are nowhere near to getting what they should be. Again, I use the model of the Americans, especially in the Maine lobster fishery. More or less, if you have three substantial strikes, three substantial convictions, they simply take the l

Fisheries committee  Oh, it is. It's absolutely important. We can only anecdotally put a number on what we think the black market is worth. We tend to think it's worth roughly 10% of what's landed. You're looking at potentially $40 to $45 million in the black market, just in one LFA. It translates b

Fisheries committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Fraser. You mentioned 100 new officers for the country. Actually, I think that even the region alone could have another 100-plus officers. They are needed. They're simply understaffed. Every office is understaffed, so they have to pick and choos

Fisheries committee  Thank you. Good day, everyone. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans about the enforcement and penalties for infractions under the Fisheries Act. It is our opinion that the regional capacity to carry out enforcement and protect

Fisheries committee  Actually, in LFA 34, we were very lucky last year. There were two closures very close to our fishing area. One was in the Roseway Basin. It happened on the last day of our season, but if it had happened two weeks earlier, we would have had a closure in a small section in our sout

Fisheries committee  I think Mr. Fitzpatrick has it spot-on. The big thing is that science and industry have to be pushing this, and the precautionary approach has to take the lead from industry and science. Industry is the eyes on the water [Technical difficulty—Editor].

Fisheries committee  I think, if we went back to that—I'm assuming you're saying there would also be a reduction in the number of lobsters on the bottom—it just wouldn't be good for the local economy or the fishermen or whatever. If we returned to LFA 34, which is all I want to speak to, and to where

Fisheries committee  No. So far we've been on the beneficial side of the environmental changes—for now. Moving forward from here, we could see some effects that might not be as beneficial, but so far we're reaping the benefits of warmer water. It's led to a larger percentage of lobster larvae survivi