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e-5057 (Fisheries)

E-petition
Initiated by COURTNEY LANGILLE from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the Government of Canada

Whereas:
  • The commitment to a 115,000-tonne allowance allocated to inshore harvesters in Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) divisions 2J3KL was first instated in 1982 by the Honourable Romeo Leblanc and is clear and consistent throughout groundfish management plans of the 1980s;
  • In 2015, the Liberal Party of Canada committed in writing to re-affirm the federal commitment to allocate the first 115,000 tonnes of Northern cod to inshore harvesters and Indigenous groups to ensure that they would be the primary beneficiaries of the Northern cod stock;
  • On June 26, 2024, the Trudeau Liberal government ended the Northen Cod Stewardship Fishery and announced a commercial fishery with a total allowable harvest of approximately 19,000 tonnes with at least one-third of the share allocated to offshore and international fleets;
  • Any allocation to offshore and international fleets is in clear violation of the 42-year federal commitment to inshore harvesters and their coastal communities; and
  • The Northern cod stock just entered the Cautious Zone and cannot withstand the fishing pressure of offshore draggers that fish unsustainably and during periods of pre-spawning aggregations while it continues to rebuild.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to immediately revert the 2J3KL Northern cod fishery to a stewardship fishery with the 2023 terms and reaffirm the commitment of the Trudeau-led Liberal government that the first 115,000 tonnes of Northern cod quota will be allocated to inshore harvesters and Indigenous groups so that, until the 115,000-tonne threshold is met, only inshore, owner-operator harvesters and Indigenous groups benefit from the Northern cod resource.
Open for signature
July 3, 2024, at 2:33 p.m. (EDT)
Closed for signature
October 31, 2024, at 2:33 p.m. (EDT)
Photo - Lisa Marie Barron
Nanaimo—Ladysmith
New Democratic Party Caucus
British Columbia