Fisheries committee  These are the same resources that we use to manage the fishery. They are our fishery analysts.

Fisheries committee  I am, yes. Using the data that was available to us, including catch data supplied to us from harvesters, we were able to arrive at what we believe, following the policy, are accurate numbers with respect to quality and risk.

Fisheries committee  There is some level of qualitative assumption built into the assessment, but it is the policy as it's developed and as approved by the department. As I understand it, the commissioner and his office supported the policy in that way, in terms of how it was designed.

Fisheries committee  Dedicated resources were provided in the 2023 budget. I can tell you that on my team we have two full-time equivalents working on this to provide national coordination and implementation on the stocks that we manage out of Ottawa. In the regions, they also have resources based in fish management, conservation and protection, and in science as well, to implement FMP, fish monitoring policy.

Fisheries committee  I can speak to that, Mr. Chair.

Fisheries committee  Thank you very much. As the commissioner just noted, certainly eco-certification schemes such as MSC—the Marine Stewardship Council—and others do rely on science data, catch data. That's very important. It's part of their certification process. We work with them very closely and work with industry very closely to try to address any gaps if they are seeking certification or seeking to retain certification.

Fisheries committee  With respect to northern cod, the 2J3KL science assessment is coming up on that, but we do know, at least based on an assessment last year, that it appears that we might be able to have a commercial fishery for that stock. We'd be working with industry to develop the monitoring requirements for it.

Fisheries committee  Thank you very much for the question. I think there are a couple of points. One is that the situation with gulf shrimp and the estuary is problematic, and the minister and department certainly recognize that. The total allowable catch would be lower this season as a result of where that stock is.

Fisheries committee  In fact, we are working with them. The announcement was just made by the minister a week and a half ago with respect to the redfish fishery. She announced a minimum total allowable catch of 25,000 tonnes, which can be increased based on the feedback and advice we get from industry.

Fisheries committee  Certainly within the licence conditions, we have requirements with respect to the reporting of catches. I take your point, though. There is certainly inconsistency between fleets, between regions, and that's actually one of the things that implementing the fishery monitoring policy will help us discover.

Fisheries committee  I think the issue of catch monitoring and data collection is very important. In fact, today I'm attending this meeting from Halifax because I was chairing the Atlantic mackerel advisory committee meeting, where we had a session on fishery monitoring policy implementation and how that could feed into the rebuilding plan of that stock, which is in the critical zone.

Fisheries committee  There are a number of data sources that we use when making fisheries management decisions. Certainly, science data is one. If we are missing a trawl, there are ways that we can look back at the existing science that we had previously and extrapolate from it and make some conclusions as to where we can go forward.

Fisheries committee  I think all of that is actually very important. That's part of the purpose of the fishery monitoring policy. It essentially conducts an audit on the risk, quality and dependability of that data that's coming in. In some fisheries, the quality of data is excellent and we know for certain that it can be validated.

Fisheries committee  I think it's important to note that certainly not all fisheries are equal. We have many fisheries that have 100% at-sea observer coverage. We have very good data coming out of those fisheries, as well as very recent stock assessments. Then in other cases, in stock assessments, perhaps we might have missed one.

Fisheries committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Good day, members of the committee. I would like to begin by recognizing I am speaking to you from Mi'kma'ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq people. This territory was covered by the treaties of peace and friendship that Mi'kmaq, Wolastoqiyik or Maliseet, and Passamaquoddy peoples first signed with the British Crown in 1726.