FOPO Committee Report
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Recommendation 1
The Committee recommends:
That before finalizing the Atlantic Fisheries Policy Framework, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans conduct a further round of direct, timely and meaningful consultations with stakeholders, including public forums with fishermen themselves. The Department should complete this round no later than May 31, 2004.
Recommendation 2
The Committee recommends:
That the loopholes in the owner-operator and fleet separation policies described previously be closed by making the appropriate regulations under the Fisheries Act, so as to prevent undue corporate concentration of the resource.
Recommendation 3
The Committee recommends:
That the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans revisit his decision to impose a moratorium on the 2J3KL and 3Pn4RS cod stocks and that the Minister give serious consideration to the conservation measures recommended by the Newfoundland and Labrador All-Party Committee and the Fisheries Resource Conservation Council.
Recommendation 4
The Committee recommends:
That the Government of Canada actively promote the growth of a sustainable seal harvest by working with the sealing industry to expand markets in order to enhance economic opportunities in Atlantic Canada and Quebec.
Recommendation 5
The Committee recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans conduct another round of groundfish licence buyouts; and
Recommendation 6
The Committee recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans consider the feasibility of cancelling groundfish licences that are deemed to have been inactive for two or more fishing seasons.
Recommendation 7
The Committee recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans properly fund scientific research and that results be made available both to fishermen and the public as soon as they are available.
Recommendation 8
The Committee recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans provide some financial support to the Fishermen & Scientists Research Society with a view to promoting mutual understanding between scientists and fishermen; and
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans consider promoting similar societies in other regions of the country.
Recommendation 9
The Committee recommends:
That, where possible, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans encourage the use of sentinel fisheries and that it ensure that they are adequately funded.
Recommendation 10
The Committee recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans establish multi-year fishing plans that would be clearly understood by all the participants and which would be subject to adjustment only in the event of changing scientific information about the status of the stock.
Recommendation 11
The Committee recommends:
That there be a reallocation of human and financial resources from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ national headquarters in Ottawa to the five regional offices and that those five regional offices be given the appropriate managerial authority.
Recommendation 12
The Committee recommends:
That the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans examine:
| • | whether the creation of permanent shares to the non-traditional crabbers is consistent with the conservation and viability of the resource; |
| • | whether the current distribution of the 15% permanent share allocation among the non-traditional crabbers is equitable; and |
| • | whether giving organizations a share of the catch to distribute promotes stability of the industry; and |
The Committee urges the Minister in the strongest possible terms to consider these issues early and carefully so as to avoid a repetition of the violence that occurred in 2003.
Recommendation 13
The Committee recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans conduct a scientific study to determine whether the Confederation Bridge is affecting the surrounding marine environment and, if so, what actions can be taken to mitigate the impacts.
Recommendation 14
The Committee recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans cooperate with the Department of National Defence in locating weapons dumpsites and that it encourage National Defence to provide information on dumpsites in order for the Canadian Hydrographic Service to update its nautical charts.
Recommendation 15
The Committee recommends:
That the federal government establish, in cooperation with the Atlantic Salmon Federation, a wild Atlantic salmon endowment fund to be used to assist volunteer organizations to implement Atlantic salmon conservation and habitat stewardship programs.
Recommendation 16
The Committee recommends:
That the federal government use the Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund as its model to establish the equivalent fund for wild Atlantic salmon; and
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans increase permanent funding for research directed toward conservation of fish and fish habitat, particularly with respect to wild Atlantic salmon.