Fisheries committee  I will quickly respond to Mr. Keddy. You are talking about the biomass in the southern gulf and you are saying the same thing as the scientists. I am not holding it against you; that is what is available to work with. Mr. Keddy, for a year, I have been bringing fishers from the

Fisheries committee  I did read an article where a scientist stated that seals in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence ate 40,000 metric tonnes of cod. I believe that what fishermen are looking for is a point of no return. That is why we are here today. Four thousand tonnes of cod in the south of the Gulf o

Fisheries committee  In keeping with our discussions with the office of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, i.e., with the science director, we are now considering the matter with an independent party in order to determine our next steps. We were told that a meeting would be held in September to de

Fisheries committee  Of course. As I said earlier, fishers think that the cod biomass in the southern gulf will be greatly harmed if we stop making regular checks of the situation, especially if we close down fishing. Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists in the southern gulf go out in August. The s

Fisheries committee  There is no doubt the repercussions would be enormous. For example, some 20 years ago, there were about 60 mid-shore fishing boats in the Gaspé. Today, in the Gaspé and Magdalen Islands, there are only 18 mid-shore boats with a groundfish licence. It's the same thing in other pro

Fisheries committee  You are absolutely right. Twenty years ago, there were approximately 7,000 grey seals. Today, the herd has grown to between 70,000 and 100,000 seals. What is unique about the grey seal is that it lives within the gulf, along the coast. They can be found across the Gaspé. Let me

Fisheries committee  The law hasn't changed. I can give you an example. Earlier, I said that one of my colleagues, a fisher from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, went to sea with scientists and caught 24,000 pounds of cod. Normally, the scientists should have said that, if the cod was present in such

Fisheries committee  Earlier, I talked about harmonizing the north and south. After all, we are inventorying the same species and the same body of water, even though that body of water is split in two by some imaginary line put there by human beings. It is the same Gulf of St. Lawrence. If things are

Fisheries committee  No, because DFO scientists have a formula—I don't know what they call it, but I'm sure some people here know—that makes it possible for them to compensate for the discrepancy between the two boats. But that is not why we are taking action. We have a great many problems that date

Fisheries committee  Thank for your question. I am very glad that you asked this, because I said earlier that I was primarily a groundfish fisherman, though with the last two consecutive moratoria, we were allowed temporarily to catch shrimp. When we fish for shrimp, we cannot fish for cod. For seve

Fisheries committee  Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have said what I came to say. The people who are around the table have all received our brief. I won't say any more. Perhaps my colleague, Mr. Couillard, has something to add.

Fisheries committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. First of all, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Réginald Cotton, et I am from Rivière-au-Renard in the Gaspé. I am one of the groundfishers who have been forced to fish small, temporary shrimp quotas since the moratorium. We have provid