Fisheries committee  Yes, it's an area we're exploring. I think there are some good examples in other jurisdictions, like the U.S. for example, for a stronger inclusion of social indicators in fisheries policy. It is a bit of a slippery slope, or can be, because management decisions should really be

Fisheries committee  Just to clarify, we're not a standard-setter and we don't have our own sustainability standards, but we promote the sustainability standards of the Marine Stewardship Council in particular. That's a globally recognized organization that adheres also to a code of conduct by the FA

Fisheries committee  It's never far enough. Fisheries are complicated, and it's the important role of our Department of Fisheries and Oceans to manage the fishery. Eco-certification can help and can kick-start, and it has the advantage that it's market driven. A lot of the retailers that we supply—fo

Fisheries committee  I think it's a critical time now to implement these sustainability measures. The Newfoundland cod product, as we heard many times today and at our action plan meeting this morning, is a product that is wanted in the world. It's a high-end product. It is a critical time now to mak

Fisheries committee  Absolutely. We would be happy to share two documents. One is the pre-assessment that identified the issues of the northern cod stewardship fishery. That's roughly a hundred-page document that your former regional director general, Jim Baird, did for us. Second, we have a scop

Fisheries committee  Yes, sure. As I mentioned before, we completed a fisheries improvement project for the southern cod fishery and we just initiated one with the FFAW on the northern cod fishery. It's a multi-year project. The northern cod fisheries improvement project is scheduled to take five

Fisheries committee  Yes, sure. DFO has a number of modern policies that were developed fairly recently. However, in order to solidify an ecosystem approach to fisheries management, we are thinking that changes in the review of the current Fisheries Act would be a valuable tool to strengthen the eco

Fisheries committee  The beginning of the commercial fishery is set by a limit reference point that is being developed by DFO, and we fully comply with their recommendation on when to open a commercial fishery. There was a modest increase in catches for the stewardship fishery, which we think is also

Fisheries committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. My name is Bettina Saier. I'm the vice-president for WWF-Canada's oceans program. With me is Sigrid Kuehnemund, lead specialist. I'd like to thank the committee for the opportunity to contribute to the northern cod study. For half a century, WWF has work