Fisheries committee  There are certainly problems associated with the return of large vessels to the gulf. For example, this could affect the amount of incidental bycatch of vulnerable or commercially important species. These vessels also have a much greater impact than ours on the seabed and on the ecosystem in general.

Fisheries committee  My comments are somewhat along the same lines as Mr. Lanteigne's. You asked whether we felt we were properly heard at the advisory committees. Unfortunately, at these advisory committees, we feel that things are being imposed on us while we are told that we're the ones who decided them.

Fisheries committee  With regard to advisory committees—

Fisheries committee  One processor told me, last year or the year before, that he would need at least.... Maybe 100,000 tonnes might be too much this year, but what we had in the last few years was not even enough to send a couple of containers to Asia, or something like that, so it was not enough to develop a market.

Fisheries committee  Absolutely. For years now, we've been offering the help Fisheries and Oceans Canada with their scientific surveys, collecting data to help their scientists complete their surveys. By their own admission, they lack information on when they are not at sea, that is, more or less 10 months a year.

Fisheries committee  Yes.

Fisheries committee  Do you want to answer the question, Mr. Lanteigne?

Fisheries committee  Okay. I'm pretty sure Jean would concur with me that we all know and we've all said that we need to develop that fishery gradually, for all the reasons mentioned before. The issue for us, in my humble opinion, is not what we're going to have to harvest this year but what we're going to harvest in three or four years down the road.

Fisheries committee  At this point, if we include first nations, we have between 80 and 90 shrimp licences in the gulf. At the actual price of 40¢, the number quoted by Mr. Lanteigne of two million pounds is about what we would need. As Jean said, we all hope, and I firmly believe, that three or four years down the road we're going to increase significantly the price of that fish, which will mean that we will probably require less fish in the long run in order to be profitable.

Fisheries committee  In the long run, I firmly believe that there's going to be a market. With the increasing worldwide demand for redfish, and for fish and seafood, I firmly believe that this fish can be sold at a very fair price somewhere, once we have put it on the market, so the answer is yes, there is a market.

Fisheries committee  Yes, exactly. In its New Emerging Fisheries Policy, Fisheries and Oceans Canada defines new fisheries as, “Fisheries involving new species and/or stocks that are not utilized or not fully utilized, and not currently covered by a management plan.” I'm not a legal expert, but obviously redfish meets all of those criteria.

Fisheries committee  Mr. Lanteigne can add to my answer, but I'll start by saying that we have fishers who have gone through very difficult years. The fisheries sector is, by definition, a variable sector. There are good years and there are bad years. It usually balances out. In the case of shrimpers, however, the last two years have really been very difficult.

Fisheries committee  I think the main problem isn't necessarily the quota we have this year, but the one we won't have in three or five years. This has been repeated, and it's been recognized by most industry stakeholders, both fishers and processors. There's a market and a harvesting and processing capacity to be developed in this fishery.

Fisheries committee  It would be all the shrimpers, of course, without a doubt.

Fisheries committee  I'm sorry. Can you say that again?