Fisheries committee  I totally agree with Dr. Tufts. I think one of the biggest challenges to recreational fishing is the next generation. You know, I've heard that the CFL suffered by losing touch with a generation of kids. A whole generation—I think my kids would be that age—started following the

Fisheries committee  I can respond to that first, if that's okay, Dr. Tufts.

Fisheries committee  I was shocked by some of the research that came back from our independent research group. I didn't realize that more adult Canadians fish than play golf and hockey combined. I thought golf would supersede fishing in a heartbeat. Yes, I was shocked too. We all were, and we were el

Fisheries committee  I think it comes down to one word, “communication”, whether you're communicating, as Dr. Tufts said, by sharing information from the federal government or the federal researchers with the provincial counterparts or communicating with the industry. Quite often we as an association

Fisheries committee  Okay. We don't want to see that happen in Canada. We are not putting out fires as they are in the United States, but we're also not living separately either. We are connected to things that are going on south of the border—all around the world, but especially south of the borde

Fisheries committee  I think any time we pause to take a look at what we're doing and what we're not doing, whether it's in government or in business, it's always a good thing. We were thrilled to be invited to testify before the committee. I think we have to ask hard questions. I'm impressed that

Fisheries committee  I wish our government affairs chair, Phil Morlock, was not travelling in the U.S. today and was able to be here, because he could be much more eloquent than I. Access issues are certainly under way in the United States. We're witnessing that happen on both the east and west coa

Fisheries committee  I do not personally. Phil Morlock, our government affairs chair, does.

Fisheries committee  Right.

Fisheries committee  It is very valuable, and I often say that to our members when they ask what it is their membership dollars are doing. The first thing I point to is the work of Phil Morlock, Tom Brooke, and others who look after our government affairs committee. To have the opportunity to rub sho

Fisheries committee  Thank you for the question. I'm glad Dr. Tufts is here to talk more about the scientific side. I'd like to just address the promotional side of recreational fishing. That $3 million that we receive in kind from the media—and we're talking CTV, national media, local media, radio

Fisheries committee  I was referring to the Canadian Nature Survey, the report by the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Task Force on the Importance of Nature to Canadians. In the 12-month survey period, of the 24,000 adult Canadians they surveyed, each angler on average spent 27.3 days fishing. That's

Fisheries committee  Sure.

Fisheries committee  Thank you very much. I want to make sure the mike level is okay, because we had some issues with it before. Is everyone able to hear me okay?

Fisheries committee  That's perfect. Thank you. First I'd like to extend my gratitude to the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans for inviting the Canadian Sportfishing Industry Association to appear before the committee this morning via video conference. My name is Mike Melnik. I am the mana