Hon. David Richards: Madam Minister, thank you for being here.

I’m following up on Senator Poirier’s question, because Atlantic salmon is part of the Miramichi’s spiritual life. Over the last 15 years, up to 70% of juvenile salmon moving from Miramichi estuaries toward the open sea have been taken by the voracious, predatory striped bass. This horrid decline is never evident on rivers like the Cascapedia or the Restigouche. I’ve been here for six years, and the DFO has been blind and deaf to this predation. I believe it is almost totally responsible for the devastation of an entire way of life for both White fishers and First Nations bands.

Is there any indication that the government cares for the eradication of an entire species and an entire way of life, or will we allow the taking of mature bass by both White and First Nations peoples?

Hon. David Richards: Minister, I will ask a question about another predatory animal.

Is there any consideration of a seal cull in the waters of the Northumberland Strait or the Gulf of St. Lawrence? Both the seals and the predatory bass now number in the thousands. Even limited seal culling is desperately needed at this time to protect the mackerel and salmon stocks and, in fact, to protect the seals themselves.

Is there any information you can give me in that regard, minister?