Fisheries committee  Yes, that's a great question. Thank you for that. Where do I start with that? Tying and linking to harvesters is critical for all different components of the fisheries and for understanding what's going on in the water, understanding the science and the data that science is actually collecting, helping interpret that, and helping to ensure that the benefits of the fishery are coming through the communities.

Fisheries committee  That could take a couple of days. In brief, their fishing act has one similarity to ours. It came out in 1868, the same year. That's where the similarity ends. They download the responsibility for fisheries management onto the prefecture, which would be equivalent to our provinces or regional governments, rather than doing it centrally.

Fisheries committee  Last year, 2022, was a cycle year for sockeye. That means it's one of the larger returns expected. There was no commercial fishery anticipated on the Fraser River, but there was fishing going on, all the way up the lower part of the Fraser River. There were pickup trucks selling sockeye salmon.

Fisheries committee  I just heard reports that there was dumping of thousands of fish along different points of the Fraser River. When fish go off.... They go off fairly quickly if they're not iced. I'm not sure how much of that illegally caught fish got into markets, but I would say it was significant.

Fisheries committee  There has been, yes.

Fisheries committee  It's not six hours for an entire season, no. We've been getting gradually less and less time. Between 30 years ago and now.... It's almost nothing that we're getting, in terms of time on the river.

Fisheries committee  I totally agree. Why C and P was focused on prawn tubbing never came to light. I would say it goes back to some kind of civilian oversight of C and P. It needs to be held accountable and answerable for what it's actually focusing its limited resources on. That, I think, was a complete waste of time.

Fisheries committee  The use of the term really has come from the foreign fleets fishing in EEZs. EEZs were created in the 1970s. We had foreign fishing vessels fishing within sight of our coast up until 1977, and then some encroachments on that after 1977 as well. We have this split jurisdiction between managing fisheries and managing processing and the markets.

Fisheries committee  I would say that on this coast, it's outside of nations. It's individuals. It's not just first nations individuals who are responsible for this. It's much broader than what you're implying with your question.

Fisheries committee  I would say that you just have to look at what's going on with the salmon in British Columbia, and that's what to expect in your lobster fishery, if the same kind of approach is taken.

Fisheries committee  I don't think it's too small of a deal. The entire salmon fishery is pretty much closed here. There's very little commercial fishery left on our coast. The largest processor in North America has closed shop in Prince Rupert. There is no processing and no canning of salmon here anymore, except for one very small processor on the island.

Fisheries committee  I think it's a great example of connecting directly with legal fishing. That's a platform where independent harvesters are making a living in the face of the regulatory frame that's being put out there and the management regime that's being created here. Closing their eyes on the poaching and just focusing on legal fishing is, I would say, what C and P is doing here on our coast.

Fisheries committee  Good morning, everybody, or good afternoon. I'd really like to thank the committee for the invitation to speak today on IUU fishing. I'm here as a coordinator for the BC Commercial Fishing Caucus, a group formed 13 years ago by 14 commercial fishing organizations to support the common interests of small-scale fisheries along the B.C. coast.