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House Hansard - 140

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 2, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 140 - Dec/2/22
Mr. Clifford Small (Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, CPC)
  • Dec/2/22 11:08:38 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, commercial fishers feel their livelihoods are threatened by the Liberal government. More and more fisheries are being subjected to the precautionary principle because of the lack of science, or science that has not kept up with the changing ecosystem. This has resulted in fisheries either being shut down or operating with quotas that do not reflect the abundance, as is the case with northern cod. Last spring the minister stood in this House and told us that new vessels promised under the national shipbuilding strategy would be ready to complete cod surveys this fall. This is not the case. This aspect of scientific data will be missing for the third consecutive year and will not be available to be incorporated into this year's stock assessments. As this year's northern cod stock assessments begin, I urge the minister to give more weight to the incredible catch rates experienced by fish harvesters, and to increase next year's quota accordingly. It is time for the government to respect what harvesters experience on the water and recognize them as an important part of the ocean ecosystem and the blue economy.
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