Fisheries committee  I can't concur with what you said. I can confirm that it is the UN that set the target, and I was remiss not to mention that at the beginning. To say that just because the UN established a target, it's not based on science, I think would be folly.

Fisheries committee  What I said is I'm not sure how they arrived at the 10%, if it was a negotiated process or partially science, or partially considerations of the longer term gain. Again, my colleagues from oceans are likely much more familiar with the activities that led to the 10% being establis

Fisheries committee  I'm going to have to defer your question to the next group, oceans. I'm not familiar with any plans for the Great Lakes. Sorry.

Fisheries committee  I think it's fair to say that availability of the core group is important. I think it was raised last week, as well, with regard to the fishing industry. If the crab fishery is open and you're trying to target crab fishers, there's a greater likelihood that some or all of the cra

Fisheries committee  The overall target of 10% is an international target that was established and accepted by the members who are party to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Fisheries committee  It was established in 2010. Perhaps my colleagues in the oceans' group can shed more light on the background in 2010 as to how they arrived at the target. Was it purely political, or a combination of political choices and science, or whatever? It's my understanding that the 5%

Fisheries committee  It's frequently a common denominator, but it's not the sole source. There are two in Newfoundland that I can mention. We've already discussed the Eastport example, which is really about protecting an area for lobster reproduction. In Gilbert Bay, in Labrador, it's a type of red

Fisheries committee  That's a question best directed to our science branch, regarding the status of any particular stock. As a general statement, I can say that science has done a lot of hiring in the past few years, so there is a lot more effort being directed into various fisheries. Depending on wh

Fisheries committee  Well, that's a good question, and I'm not sure I really know the answer. A lot of it depends on the complexity. If you're talking about species protection, if you have a species you're trying to protect that's in very limited quantity, or is a mixed species, then it is a bit mo

Fisheries committee  I guess what I would say, to repeat what I said earlier, is that consultation is in the eye of the beholder to a certain extent. I think the department and our partners have carried out adequate consultation. We've made ourselves available. Have we stopped in every little communi

Fisheries committee  I guess it depends on the objective of the closure. In the case that we heard last week, the Eastport example, where the objective was to try to increase the biomass of lobster in a very finite area to benefit the communities that are alongside, a total closure or ongoing closur

Fisheries committee  I'll let Mr. Gilchrist respond.

Fisheries committee  There is a single economics branch within the department, and both of us can leverage whatever types of reports or requests we may have for their input.

Fisheries committee  I think it's fair to say that if an area or concern has been identified already by the fishing industry or communities at large and they're behind it, and are advocating for more measures to protect the area or species, then those will likely be the most successful and the easies

Fisheries committee  I guess whether you've been adequately consulted is in the eye of the beholder. I do know that with the areas we've closed.... I'd like to pick an example, simply because it's easier to visualize in my mind. I'll go back to the Disko Fan conservation area in the north. That one