Fisheries committee  I think it was in the early 2010s if I remember correctly, so 2012 or maybe before that.

Fisheries committee  Like I mentioned, in our case for the MFU, we've used the report on lobster and the report on herring as well, to push some of the changes that were suggested to our own fishermen.

Fisheries committee  Not that I know of.

Fisheries committee  Absolutely. We've been giving, in some cases, recommendations that are the same in some areas for over 20 years, for instance with mackerel, which would have had a significant impact.

Fisheries committee  That's a good question. In our case, we've been asking for more selective gear to be used with herring and with mackerel, for instance. In terms of the science and recommendations that get to the minister's office, we do not see the recommendations. If there's any lobbying or any political—

Fisheries committee  As I think I mentioned in my introduction, there was a successful committee put together a good time ago now, the FRCC, where after the cod collapse—

Fisheries committee  I will a little bit. The fisheries resource conservation council, after the cod moratorium, had a mandate to bring together DFO science but also outside of DFO science—so academia and international experts on fisheries science—and also representatives from the industry. It became a transparent process, or at least the process strived to be 100% transparent.

Fisheries committee  Thank you for the question. I'll use the example of the spring herring fishery, where we knew from what we had in terms of science that the stock was in a difficult situation for a few years. Our fishermen were seeing some of the negative signs on the water. In the last two, three or four years, our fishermen were starting to see some positive signs at the very micro and sometimes regional level.

Fisheries committee  It is crucial that the department start making significant investments to that end, because—as I said in my opening statement—our fisheries are facing a growing number of risk factors, on the west coast and east coast alike. The ecosystem changes we are seeing are going to have repercussions in the next 10 to 15 years.

Fisheries committee  I did indeed refer to the management of the lobster and snow crab fisheries as success stories, because we were able to establish a model after decades of work and co‑operation. I think that same model could apply to herring, mackerel and other species. In the case of both of those fisheries, some very tough decisions are being made or, at least, have been made by the minister's office in the past six months.

Fisheries committee  Typically, our relationship with the DFO science region of the gulf has been good, so we do have a good general update or feel for where the science is going year after year, but it's a relationship that depends on the science team and the actual species that are being studied. In terms of our relationship on lobster, it has been excellent, for instance, but in terms of some of our pelagic species, it has been more of a challenge.

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members, for having us today on this very important study. The Maritime Fishermen's Union represents over 1,300 multi-species inshore fishermen in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. They are independent owner-operators living and operating their small and medium-sized enterprises in rural coastal communities.

Fisheries committee  The answer is not easy, Mr. Cormier. For some years now, we have been asking ourselves what we can do to encourage fishermen to sell their licences to family members or to people in the community, particularly through programs. In fact, at the Maritime Fishermen's Union, or MFU, we are working on programs to support newcomers to the fishery.

Fisheries committee  It is possible. The provinces clearly have a responsibility to have a structure in place to protect those assets. They also need to provide the resources to be able to analyze the issue and find solutions.

Fisheries committee  I think you mentioned two very important words there, Mr. Morrissey, those being “ownership” and “control”. The second word is the most important. This is another area of concern right now. Through the new Fisheries Act and the protection for owner-operators that came with it, there really needs to be a look at what is protecting first nations from the same corporatization and international interests coming in and controlling first nations' assets down the road.