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Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans (FOPO)
Ministerial Appearance on Mandate and Priorities

Table of contents

A - Opening Remarks

Good afternoon, Mr. Chair. It’s a pleasure to be joining you on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg People.

Thank you for inviting me to appear today to discuss my mandate and highlight some of the progress my Department is making in areas that will be of interest to this committee. Woven throughout all of the work I’m about to discuss is my ongoing commitment to advancing reconciliation, supporting coastal communities, addressing biodiversity loss and mitigating the effects of climate change.

Before I begin, however, I want to acknowledge two devastating incidents that occurred over the past two months.

In early August, a plane carrying three DFO employees from the regional science directorate in Mont-Joli, Quebec crashed during a scientific mission in Newfoundland and Labrador. One employee lost her life in the crash and two others were injured. This was a major loss to the DFO family and the entire scientific community.

Just last month, we learned that a crew member from the CCGS Vincent Massey was lost at sea in the waters off the eastern coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. An extensive search and rescue operation ensued but, unfortunately, ended without success.

As you can imagine, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard are a tight knit family, so these have been heartbreaking losses. My thoughts are with the friends and families of the loved ones and, of course, with everyone in my Department who knew and worked with these individuals.

Mandate and progress

As Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard it’s my responsibility to support sustainable, stable and prosperous fisheries for the benefit of all harvesters, including Indigenous Peoples, and to ensure the safety of mariners in Canadian waters.

These are responsibilities that I take very seriously.

Over the past year, I’ve made a series of decisions informed by science and stakeholders that resulted in the opening of a new commercial Whelk fishery and the re-opening of the Redfish and Northern cod fisheries. I also authorized an Atlantic mackerel personal-use bait fishery. In late September, Canada reached a fair agreement with France that ensures the health and sustainability of Atlantic halibut.

More recently, I announced that personal use seal licences will be available to potential harvesters in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. The focus of this harvest is on harp and grey seals whose populations are in the healthy zone of the Precautionary Approach Framework.

A limited number of new personal use licences will be issued for 2024, in order to pilot the activity in new areas. Each personal use harvester who receives a license will be able to harvest up to six harp and/or grey seals.

Looking to the future, I’m encouraging our international partners to open their doors to Canadian products from our sustainable seal commercial harvest.

I’m also working closely with our partners to build a sustainable, safe, orderly and well-managed elver fishery with the goal of re-opening it in 2025.

In the meantime, fishery officers are continuing to enforce the Fisheries Act while educating people about the importance of this work, building trust through community outreach and fostering a sense of environmental partnership.

It’s important to remember that all fishing activity is subject to compliance verification by fishery officers who conduct patrols and inspections across all regulated fisheries whether it’s by sea, land or air.

With respect to reconciliation, I’m personally committed to working in partnership with Indigenous communities to implement their right to fish in pursuit of a moderate livelihood.

Other ways our government is supporting Canada’s fish and seafood sector include:

My Department is also working closely with the provinces and territories, Indigenous partners, fishing and stewardship organizations, and implicated communities to protect and restore Pacific salmon stocks.

Recently, my Department alongside five First Nations in British Columbia signed an Incremental Reconciliation Agreement for Fisheries Resources. This two-year funding agreement provides the framework for an effective and collaborative approach to governance, management and planning of the five Nations' fisheries resources.

This summer, I announced that open net-pen salmon aquaculture in British Columbia’s coastal waters will be prohibited by July 2029. As of July 1st of this year, any new licences for salmon aquaculture in BC, and any further renewals, will only be issued for closed containment systems.

The draft Salmon Aquaculture Transition Plan for British Columbia was published in September, and an interdepartmental task force is being led by Parliamentary Secretary Ryan Turnbull to finalize and implement the plan. In fact, PS Turnbull is launching consultations this week with impacted First Nations communities and industry stakeholders on a responsible path forward.

Another significant part of my mandate involves working with the provinces and territories, Indigenous communities, industry, environmentalists and others to protect 30 per cent of Canada’s oceans by 2030. Prior to 2015, less than one per cent of Canada’s oceans were protected. Today, that figure stands at over 15 per cent, which equates to roughly the size of British Columbia.

With respect to the Canadian Coast Guard, our government continues to invest in the organization’s fleet, shore-based assets, infrastructure and technology. Significant investments have also been made to recruit, train and support Coast Guard personnel, and to strengthen the critical partnerships that are needed for search and rescue, and environmental and hazards response on all three coasts and major inland waterways.

Some recent Coast Guard achievements include naming and launching the new Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel, unveiling the names of the two future Polar Icebreakers, naming and reaching important construction milestones for two new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships, and dedicating new Search and Rescue lifeboats and other vessels into service.

In addition to this work, the Canadian Coast Guard:

Conclusion

Mr. Chair, these accomplishments represent just a fraction of the excellent work that is being carried out by my Department on behalf of the Canadians they serve. If you have any questions related to this work, I’m pleased to answer them now.

Thank you.

B - Placemat

Issue Notes

C1 - Northern Cod

The reopened commercial fishery will generate significant economic benefits for the Newfoundland and Labrador economy, including good paying jobs in the commercial fishery and processing industry.

As with all fisheries management decisions, the Department carefully considered science advice, Indigenous perspectives, stakeholder views, and socio-economic factors affecting Newfoundland and Labrador’s coastal communities.

Stewardship and conservation remain key principles in the management of this fishery. We will continue to closely monitor the stock and adjust management measures as needed.

The stock assessment model was peer-reviewed by internal and external experts through our Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat and accepted.

C2 - Lobster Fishery in St. Mary’s Bay, Nova Scotia

As a limited biological resource, conservation and sustainability underpin our management of the fisheries.

The latest Science shows the lobster stock remains in the Healthy zone.

Our approach to enforcing the Fisheries Act is based on respect for conservation, transparent and predictable management, and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

Enforcement work is guided by the Department’s mandate and national and regional priorities. Fishery officers are professionally trained for their law enforcement roles and decisions to pursue enforcement ultimately rests with them. Law enforcement activities are not directed by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, industry, or Indigenous groups.

Our fishery officers must enforce the Fisheries Act. This includes taking enforcement action when individuals are harvesting without a DFO-issued authorization or in violation of the Fisheries Act and associated regulations.

Our officers work with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or police of jurisdiction when there are violations that go beyond conservation and protection’s legal authorities.

The Department is working to ensure that Indigenous harvesters can exercise their treaty right to fish in pursuit of a moderate livelihood and their Constitutionally-protected right to fish for food, social and ceremonial purposes; and that the fishing taking place in Nova Scotia complies with the Fisheries Act.

C3 - Enforcement

Our government is committed to sustainably managing fisheries and conserving and protecting fish and fish habitat. We prioritize ensuring fisheries are carried out in an orderly manner.

We prioritize enforcement on areas of greatest risk. We use every tool in our toolkit:

We monitor activities on and off the water, using a range of equipment, including planes and drones.

Fishery officers have discretion in exercising their function, which can mean anything from issuing warnings to seizing gear and laying charges, as circumstances warrant.

C4 - Elvers Management Review

In recent years, the elver fishery in the Maritimes Region has experienced an increase of unauthorized fishing, causing conservation and safety concerns.

In response to the severe and ongoing nature of these concerns, I made the difficult decision not to open the elver fishery for the 2024 season.

I instructed my Department to work with First Nations, the fishing industry, and other stakeholders to chart a path forward.

As part of our ongoing commitment to sustainable, orderly, and safe fisheries for all participants, a review of the elver fishery is underway.

The review has three key areas of focus: potential redistribution of access and allocations to increase Indigenous participation in the fishery; development of proposed new Regulations for the possession and export of elvers in Canada; and changes to the management of the fishery, including the design and implementation of a new traceability system.

The proposed Regulations were posted in Canada Gazette I for a 70-day consultation period, and work to have them in place for a 2025 fishing season is ongoing.

The Department is consulting on a potential 50 per cent reallocation of the elver fishery total allowable catch, to increase First Nations participation in the fishery. A pilot project related to new commercial licences is also being pursued.

A new traceability system is being developed to support monitoring the fishery from harvest to export.

C5 - Redfish and Shrimp Fisheries

The sharp decline in the abundance of shrimp in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence is a cause for concern for the future of this commercial fishery.

Due to the state of these shrimp stocks, the Department will develop a rebuilding plan to be implemented by fall of 2025. Consultations on the development of this plan will take place in autumn 2024 and winter 2025.

On May 31, 2024, the management plan for the 2024 Redfish Unit 1 commercial fishery was announced, including a total allowable catch of 60,000 tonnes, with 10 per cent of this being allocated to Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence shrimp harvesters.

C6 - Atlantic Mackerel

In response to the depleted status of the Atlantic Mackerel the commercial fishery remained closed in 2024 for a third year in a row.

To provide harvesters the opportunity to lower bait costs, without jeopardizing our rebuilding goals, a 470 tonne bait fishery was established for 2024.

The Government of Canada is taking decisive action to rebuild the Atlantic mackerel stock so that the fisheries which rely upon on Atlantic mackerel can continue to thrive for generations to come.

C7 - Seal Management Framework and Market Access

The Government of Canada manages seals to promote a sustainable, humane, and well-regulated seal harvest that supports Canada’s Indigenous, rural, and remote coastal communities.

The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of the trade in sustainably and humanely harvested seals and seal products to Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians.

The Government of Canada is committed to exploring new trade and commercial opportunities for Canadian seal products, including where market access opportunities have been restricted.

C8 - Ghost Gear and Whalesafe Gear

Since the establishment the Ghost Gear Program in 2019, Canada has become a global leader in addressing abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear, known as ghost gear.

Entanglement in fishing gear has been identified as a threat to North Atlantic right whales, and other whale species, in Canadian waters. Entanglement also jeopardizes the sustainability and market access of our fisheries.

We have taken action, working with partners and stakeholders to get ghost gear out of our oceans and to prevent ghost gear in the first place. This work has been supported by the delivery of $58 million in targeted funding since 2020 for 143 projects.

The Government is working with harvesters, researchers, whale experts, First Nations, and fishing gear manufacturers to develop and adopt innovative fishing gear technology that will both protect whales, and support sustainable fisheries.

C9 - CESD Audit: Marine Fisheries Catch

The Government of Canada has invested $30.9 million over 5 years beginning in 2023, with $5.1 million ongoing, to implement the Fishery Monitoring Policy.

My department is committed to accelerating the implementation of the policy to ensure fisheries are producing dependable, timely, and accessible catch information that can be used to inform management action.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has prioritized implementation of the policy on a set of stocks due to their cultural, economic, and/or ecological importance;Implementation is currently underway.

C10 - Inshore Regulations: Owner Operator and Fleet Separation

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is committed to promoting viable and profitable operations for small, independent fishing enterprises through the Owner-Operator policy.

This policy ensures that fishing licences and their associated benefits remain in the hands of independent, small-vessel owner-operators, thereby supporting the sustainability and independence of Canada’s inshore fisheries.

We continue to implement the inshore regulations to preserve the principles of Owner Operator and Fleet Separation.

C11 - Small Craft Harbours

Small craft harbours are one of my top priorities. They are critical infrastructure for many coastal communities, supporting their economic prosperity.

Budget 2024 announced, $463.3 million over three years for the repair and maintenance of small craft harbours, including those damaged by Hurricane Fiona, starting in 2024-25.

Through these investments, repairs to Fisheries and Oceans Canada wharves and breakwaters will be made using the latest climate-adapted standards and codes, increasing the overall resiliency of our harbours.

The priority of the Small Craft Harbours program is to provide safe and accessible facilities for commercial fish harvesters. Given the realities of the climate crisis, this is becoming more and more challenging.

C12 - Fisheries Decision Making

Fisheries play an important role as economic drivers in our coastal communities - both Indigenous and non-Indigenous.

I am committed to making evidence-based fisheries decisions that uphold conservation as my first priority to protect fish stocks for current and future generations of Canadians.

The views of Indigenous partners, harvesters, and other stakeholders are taken into account through formal advisory processes.

C13 - Science in Support of Decision Making

Fisheries and Oceans Canada plays a key role in providing robust and timely science advice to support departmental decision-making.

Departmental scientists work with a range of partners and external experts in collecting data and conducting research to understand important issues, like sustainable fisheries and the impacts of climate change on the marine environment.

The Department works with a range of experts to provide science advice and continues to expand the involvement of external experts in its peer review meetings.

The Department is focused on ensuring objective, impartial, evidence-based science.

C14 - Multinuclear Sphere X- MSX - Oyster Disease

Our government understands the importance of protecting the health of Canada's aquatic resources and the multi-billion dollar export market for fish and seafood products.

Multinuclear Sphere X Oyster Disease, known as MSX, poses no risks to human health or food safety, but it is a serious disease for American oysters that can cause significant oyster mortality of both cultured and wild oysters.

My department is collaborating with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Province of Prince Edward Island and industry to contain the outbreak and limit the spread of MSX.

C15 - Seal Science, Collaboration and External Research

My Department conducts research to estimate the abundance of seals and sea lions and to better understand their role in marine ecosystems. DFO researchers work in collaboration with external partners and through a rigorous peer review process.

Last year, I announced an investment of $643,900 in external funding to a combination of Indigenous, industry, and university groups to improve our understanding of the role of seals and sea lions in the ecosystem.

C16 - Aquaculture Science

Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducts research and provides science advice to support the sustainable management of aquaculture.

My Department relies on internal science, science collaborations, external peer-reviewed research findings, and a robust peer-review process to provide science advice on interactions and potential impacts from aquaculture on wild species and ecosystems.

Experts for peer-review meetings can include Departmental scientists, academics, scientists from other government departments or other countries, and local and Indigenous knowledge holders.

C17 - Aquaclture Transition Plan in British Columbia

On September 20th, the Government of Canada published the draft Salmon Aquaculture Transition Plan for British Columbia.

The Plan will serve as the basis for consultation and engagement on supports for those impacted by the transition.

An interdepartmental task force, which will be housed at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada will lead these important discussions, and develop a final Transition Plan in 2025.

C18 - Aquatic Invasive Species

The 2022 Fall Economic Statement dedicated $36.6 million over five years to fight aquatic invasive species in Canada.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada works in close collaboration with federal, provincial, and territorial counterparts to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species into and within Canada.

C19 - Marine Conservation

Canada currently conserves 15.54 per cent of its ocean area.

The Government of Canada has committed almost $1 billion to manage existing sites and to conserve 25 per cent of Canada’s ocean by 2025, and is committed to conserving 30 per cent by 2030.

These historic investments will support the establishment of conservation areas through partnership and shared work with communities.

C20 - Southern Resident Killer Whales: Emergency Order

The protection of Canada’s species at risk, including the iconic Southern Resident killer whale, continues to be a priority for our government.

Since 2018, the federal government has made significant investments in support of enhanced measures to address imminent threats to Southern Resident Killer Whales.

In collaboration with Environment and Climate Change Canada, Transport Canada, Parks Canada and Natural Resources Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada is conducting a detailed analysis to inform the competent Ministers opinion on imminent threats.

C21 - Eagle Gold Mine, Yukon

The Department shares the ongoing concern over the heap leach failure at the Victoria Eagle Gold Mine and the risk of contamination of watersheds and fish.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is working closely with Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Yukon Government to assess the effects of the failure and to ensure that necessary measures are taken to address environmental issues as quickly as possible.

C22 - Traceability

The Government of Canada recognizes that it is importantfor Canadians to have confidence that the fish and seafood they eat is safe, sustainable and responsibly harvested.

Traceability protects law-abiding harvesters from having to compete with products derived from illegal or unsustainable fishing operations and offers assurance to consumers seeking responsibly-sourced fish and seafood products.

C23 - Foreign Ownership and West Coast Engagement

The Department acknowledges the concerns expressed by the Committee in their 2023 report titled “Foreign Ownership and Corporate Concentration of Fishing Licenses and Quota”. A Government Response was tabled in April 2024.

The Department is now engaging First Nations and key stakeholders on a variety of topics highlighted by the Committee, including foreign ownership and the viability of inshore-style policies in Pacific fisheries, through the West Coast Commercial Fisheries Modernization engagement.

Meaningful engagement with First Nations and commercial fishery participants, as well as careful consideration and analysis of potential impacts, are required before policy changes can be considered.

C24 - Indigenous Moderate Livelihood Fishing

Our government is committed to advancing reconciliation, and renewing the relationship with Indigenous peoples, based on the recognition of rights, respect, cooperation and partnership.

Through an array of collaborative arrangements and nation-to-nation agreements, my Department works with Treaty Nations to uphold treaty rights and protect fishery resources for the benefit of all.

The Department has enabled benefits to communities of over $170 million in annual landings and over $100 million in secondary economic benefits.

Our goal is to have fisheries that are peaceful, productive, and prosperous, that uphold the Marshall decisions, and ensure that Treaty Nations are able to exercise their rights in a way that is reflective of their visions and needs.

C25 - Internal Measures to Tackle Systematic Racism

My Department is sustaining its efforts to move away from a relationship based on colonialism to one that recognizes and respects Indigenous rights and interests. More work remains to be done to address the systemic racism faced by Indigenous Peoples.

My Department has taken a number of steps to promote Reconciliation and to combat systemic racism.

We are implementing deliberate strategies to increase the representation of Indigenous Peoples at Fisheries and Oceans Canada and promote learning and awareness activities concerning the historical relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the Government of Canada, as well as the fight against racism.

Since 2015, my Department has onboarded over 380 fishery officer cadets who completed their initial training, including 3 days of Indigenous Perceptions training, one day of which is with an Indigenous Elder.

C26 - Treaty Negotiations on the West Coast

The Government of Canada is working with Indigenous groups to explore new, flexible ways of working together to recognize Indigenous rights and self-determination using a variety of measures including negotiating reconciliation agreements and modern treaties.

The opportunity to conclude negotiations at British Columbia treaty tables and securing comprehensive treaties through the British Columbia Treaty Process in the next few years would be a significant achievement and support better relationships between the Indigenous Peoples and the Government of Canada.

C27 - Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels

The Wrecked, Abandoned, or Hazardous Vessels Act establishes legal responsibility for owners to maintain their vessels, and provides the Canadian Coast Guard with authorities to direct owners to take action when a vessel poses a hazard to the marine environment, public safety, or local infrastructure.

The Canadian Coast Guard has adopted a graduated approach to compliance and enforcement, and works with vessel owners to explain their responsibilities. In cases where owners are non-compliant, enforcement authorities include administrative monetary penalties and fines.

C28 - Fleet Renewal

It is critical that the Canadian Coast Guard has the ships it needs to deliver essential marine navigation, search and rescue, and other safety services.

We have made significant progress: since 2015, the Coast Guard has taken delivery of three large vessels and 19 small vessels under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, 23 helicopters and four Interim Icebreakers.

C29 - Staffed Lighthouses

The Canadian Coast Guard uses 17,000 aids to navigation, including lightstations, to help mariners confirm their position, stay inside navigable channels, and avoid marine hazards.

The Department has 241 light stations, of which 200 serve an operational purpose.

Fifty-one light stations on the British Columbia and Atlantic coasts are staffed by Canadian Coast Guard personnel. All other lightstations are un-staffed.

As operational requirements continue to evolve, the Department is working to evaluate modernizing the delivery of navigational services at light station sites and explore options for the preservation of heritage light stations.

C30 - Refocusing on Government Spending

Budget 2023 announced government spending reductions on travel and professional services, as well as a reduction of operating and transfer payment spending across all federal organizations to help achieve savings of $14.1 billion over five years.

As part of meeting this commitment, the Government approved the following spending reductions for Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard:

The Department is committed to achieving these savings with limited impact on our services and employees, as well as ensuring that the reductions do not affect our Indigenous reconciliation activities and are not concentrated in the regions.

To achieve our overall savings target of $135.4 million, the Department will:

C31 - Overtime at DFO

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is responsible for managing Canada's fisheries and oceans resources and protecting its waters and all mariners. Safeguarding our waters is a 24-hour responsibility.

The Government of Canada is committed to the prudent management of public resources.

As a department we are reviewing all operational requirements for overtime in order to limit its use where operationally required and to ensure that it is allocated in accordance with collective agreements and/or terms and conditions of employment.

C - Issue Notes

C1 - Northern Cod

Question 1: Why was the Northern Cod (2J3KL) fishery changed from a Stewardship fishery to a commercial fishery for the 2024 season, which allows access to the offshore fleet?

Question 2: Did the Department engage stakeholders before making this change in the Northern cod fishery?

Question 3: Why did the Department break the 115,000-tonne commitment to the NL inshore sector and Indigenous groups?

Question 4: Did the options recommended by the Department follow the legal requirements of Fish Stock Provisions under the Fisheries Act?

Question 5: Are you concerned about access by the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization Contracting Parties? Why is the Department allowing foreign fishing for Northern cod?

Question 6: Is Canada concerned about Russian access to the Northern cod fishery?

Question 7: What is Canada doing to monitor activity and ensure compliance in the NAFO Regulatory Area?

Question 8: Was logbook data for northern cod for the years 2020-2023 analyzed and used in the recent stock assessment that was completed in March 2024?

Question 9: Why is catch rate (CPUE) not considered to be a good indication of Stock size?

Background

Management Decision

In 1992, Canada placed the Canadian portion of the Northern cod stock under commercial moratorium due to a severe stock decline.

In 1998, Canada re-opened a small index fishery which was later closed in 2003 and it remained under commercial moratorium until June 26, 2024.

In 2006, while under commercial moratorium, DFO introduced a stewardship fishery which was limited to the fixed-gear inshore fleet sector (FFAW members) only. This fishery had the following objectives: to obtain a better understanding of the resource status of Northern cod; to develop a culture of stewardship among harvesters; to collect fishery data to contribute to the stock assessment; and to facilitate harvester participation in the stock assessment process.

In November 2023, following a Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) science process, DFO’s understanding of the Northern cod stock changed, noting that the stock was in the Cautious zone from 2016 to 2021 (precautionary approach policy). The latest stock assessment in March 2024 confirmed that the stock remains in the Cautious zone.

On June 26, the Minister announced the management approach for the 2024 2J3KL (Northern) cod fishery, which included the re-establishment of a commercial fishery with a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 18,000 tonnes (t).

As with all fisheries management decisions, DFO carefully considered the science advice, stakeholder views, and socio-economic factors affecting Newfoundland and Labrador’s coastal communities.

Given this is a commercial fishery, authorized gear is both mobile (otter trawl) and fixed (gillnet, longline, cod pots). Mobile gear was not authorized in the Stewardship fishery. The current authorization is for both the offshore and Inshore Mobile gear fleets.

In late July 2024, the Fish Food and Allied Workers-Unifor’ union (FFAW) and Glen Winslow (the applicants) filed a Judicial Review application before the Federal Court of Canada challenging the June 20th 2024 decision and also filed a motion for an injunction to prohibit the implementation of the 2024 management plan until the judicial review is complete. The Applicants were asking the Court to quash the decision to end the Northern Cod Moratorium off the northern and eastern coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador, which allows for a portion of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of allocated cod to be given to the offshore sector, and incidentally enables a small international participation in the NAFO Regulatory Area. The Applicants alleged that the decision is unreasonable because the Minister failed to exercise her discretion in a manner consistent with the Fisheries Act and departmental guidelines. They also claimed that the Minister failed to provide detailed reasons for the decision and that it was made without considering the ecological, economic and social impacts the decision would have on the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

On October 18, 2024, the Federal Court dismissed the Applicants motion for an injunction. Operationally, this means that the 2024 Management Plan for 2J3KL Cod can continue to be implemented by DFO as planned, with the offshore expected to begin their fishing operations in the coming weeks.

The Applicant’s application for a Judicial Review remains before the court with a decision not anticipated before 2025. The Attorney General of Canada is defending the Minister’s decision, and DFO Legal Services is coordinating the legal response.

NAFO Surveillance

A variety of methods are used to monitor fishing activity on the high seas, including aerial surveillance, at-sea and port inspections, international observers, satellite (RADARSAT II) and vessel monitoring systems (VMS).

VMS is mandatory for all vessels fishing in the NAFO Regulatory Area (NRA) with reporting at one-hour intervals; it enables satellite tracking of vessels and provide detailed information on vessel name and location. Canada regularly conducts forensic analysis of VMS data to provide "smart" information to patrol vessels/aircrafts about high-risk non-compliant fishing vessels.

Canada also employs a Fisheries Monitoring Centre to monitoring catch related data and reporting to meet international and enforcement related obligations.

Canada invests $30 million annually for aerial surveillance and at-sea inspection patrols in the NAFO Regulatory Area, which includes approximately 775,000 square nautical miles of fishable grounds outside the 200-mile limits of coastal States in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean.

Canada also works closely with international partners to ensure compliance within the NAFO regulatory area, including conducting joint patrols and sharing of information as prescribed within the NAFO Conservation and Enforcement Measures.

Conservation and Protection (C&P) enforcement efforts in the NRA are comprised of at-sea monitoring and inspections from CCG vessels, port catch verification/inspections, patrolling from aerial surveillance platforms and observed tow information reporting.

C2 - Lobster Fishery in St. Mary’s Bay, Nova Scotia

Question 1: What is the department doing about unauthorized fishing in Nova Scotia?

Question 2: What enforcement tactics does conservation and protection employ in Nova Scotia?

Question 3: Why did the Department ignore the proposal submitted by the Sipekne’katik First Nation and United Fisheries Conservation Association to buy back licences in support of Indigenous fishing?

Question 4: Cash sales

Background

St. Mary’s Bay falls within LFA 34. The most recent published Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) Stock Status Update (Science Response 2023/021) shows that LFA 34 Lobster is considered to be in the Healthy zone. Lobster landings and other stock status indices in LFA 34 increased between 2010 and 2015/2016 to the highest levels ever recorded. Several factors are impacting lobster stocks including climate and ecosystem changes in the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine and changes in commercial fishing pressure.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is committed to a renewed relationship with Indigenous peoples based on recognizing rights, respect, collaboration, and partnership. As part of that commitment, we are working with First Nations harvesters so that they can exercise their Supreme Court-affirmed Treaty right to fish through various DFO-authorized fisheries. These fisheries include food, social and ceremonial (FSC), and communal commercial fisheries, including interim understandings reached to fish in pursuit of a moderate livelihood.

Many First Nations harvesters are exercising their right to fish FSC lobster throughout Nova Scotia. In areas such as St. Mary’s Bay in southwestern Nova Scotia and in the vicinity of St. Peter’s Canal in Cape Breton, fishery officers are working with these communities to protect the rights of First Nations harvesters engaged in this fishery. Part of that protection is ensuring that the fishing complies with the Fisheries Act, and other associated regulations. As we do in all fisheries, our fishery officers are verifying gear for compliance, monitoring activities on and off the water and, where warranted, seizing gear and catch, and laying charges for violations under the Fisheries Act. Fishing activity occurring without a required licence or not in compliance with the conditions of the licence is subject to enforcement action.

DFO is committed to providing for a safe, orderly and sustainable lobster fishery for all participants. We firmly believe that respectful, constructive dialogue is the way to achieve this.

DFO continues to work with all those involved in lobster fisheries - non-Indigenous and Indigenous -- to responsibly manage this socially, historically and economically important species.

Established seasons support this shared goal. Seasons help make sure predictability for all those participating in the fishery, as well as for other fleets and industries, and reduces gear conflict among fisheries operating in the same geographic area. The timing of season openings also help ensure that the benefits of the inshore lobster fishery are distributed broadly to Indigenous and coastal communities across Atlantic Canada.

DFO is working with the RCMP to monitor and address any illegal activity including harassment and violence on the water.

We will continue to take action whenever unauthorized harvesting and other violations under the Fisheries Act are observed, while supporting the exercise of fishing rights.

C3 - Enforcement

Question 1: What is the Department doing about unauthorized fishing on the Canada-US boundary?

Question 2: What enforcement tactics does Conservation and Protection employ?

Question 3: What are the Department's current enforcement efforts regarding moderate livelihood fisheries in the Maritimes?

Question 4: What is the status of the work refusal?

Question 5: How is the Department responding to the refusal of fieldwork under the Canada Labour Code by some Maritimes region Fishery Officers?

Background

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is committed to a renewed relationship with Indigenous peoples based on recognizing rights, respect, collaboration, and partnership. As part of that commitment, we are working with First Nations harvesters so that they can exercise their Supreme Court-affirmed inherent and Treaty rights to fish through various DFO-authorized fisheries. These fisheries include food, social and ceremonial (FSC), and communal commercial fisheries, including interim understandings reached to fish in pursuit of a moderate livelihood.

Many First Nations harvesters are exercising their right to fish FSC lobster throughout Nova Scotia. In areas such as St. Mary’s Bay in southwestern Nova Scotia and in the vicinity of St. Peter’s Canal in Cape Breton, fishery officers are working with these communities to protect the rights of Indigenous harvesters engaged in this fishery. Part of that protection is ensuring that the fishing complies with the Fisheries Act, and other associated regulations. As we do in all fisheries, our fishery officers are verifying gear for compliance, monitoring activities on and off the water and, where warranted, seizing gear and catch, and laying charges for violations under the Fisheries Act. Fishing activity occurring without a required DFO-issued licence or not in compliance with the conditions of the licence is subject to enforcement action.

DFO is committed to providing for a safe, orderly and sustainable lobster fishery for all participants. We firmly believe that respectful, constructive dialogue is the way to achieve this.

DFO continues to work with all those involved in lobster fisheries -Indigenous and non-Indigenous - to responsibly manage this socially, historically and economically important species.

Established seasons support this shared goal. Seasons provide predictability for all those participating in the fishery, as well as for other fleets and industries, and reduces gear conflict among fisheries operating in the same geographic area. The timing of season openings also help ensure that the benefits of the inshore lobster fishery are distributed broadly to Indigenous and coastal communities across Atlantic Canada.

DFO is working with the RCMP to monitor and address any illegal activity including harassment and violence on the water.

We will continue to take action whenever unauthorized harvesting and other violations under the Fisheries Act are observed, while supporting the exercise of Indigenous fishing rights.

Work refusal

The Department has returned to normal operations, with the 35 Fishery Officers in the Maritimes Region who submitted work refusals in July 2024 resuming all duties. While the work refusal and safety concerns were investigated first by local management and second by the joint union-management Regional Health and Safety Committee, as prescribed by the Canada Labour Code, Part II, s.128. On August 23, 2024, the file was referred to ESDC’s Labour Program at the request of refusing employees.

On October 4, 2024, the Department received the findings and a Direction from the Labour Program, which indicate that danger may arise in specific situations if previously identified hazards are left unaddressed—particularly in situations where high-powered firearms are in the hands of gangs and known violent criminals. To mitigate these risks, the Department will strictly adhere to established safety protocols that prevent Fishery Officers from engaging in situations where such threats are confirmed, unless with assistance from public safety and police services, as necessary, in order to protect the safety of officers and the public.

The Department is actively engaging with the Labour Program by sharing information on preventative measures being taken to further address safety issues for all fishery officers. We will be receiving in the coming weeks a second Direction by the Labour Program and a report outlining the analysis and rationale for both Directions.

Metrics

Since 2015, DFO has hired over 380 fishery officers.

Conservation and Protection Human Resource Metrics (as of Sept 18, 2024) (GT-04/05)
Region Operational (GT-04/05) Total

NL

77

82

Maritimes

119

121

Gulf

76

84

Quebec

44

52

Arctic/O&P

20

23

Pacific

117

128

NCR (inc. NFIS)

17

17
Conservation and Protection Human Resource Metrics (as of Sept 18, 2024) (PM-05/06)
Region Operational (PM-05/06) Total

NL

14

15

Maritimes

14

15

Gulf

13

15

Quebec

11

13

Arctic/O&P

6

7

Pacific

25

29

NCR (inc. NFIS)

9

12
Conservation and Protection Human Resource Metrics Support (non-operational)
Region Support (non-operational)

NL

29

Maritimes

31

Gulf

13

Quebec

8

Arctic/O&P

5

Pacific

38

NCR (inc. NFIS)

70

Conservation and Protection Human Resource Metrics (Front-line)

Operational: 470
Total: 507
Current operational FO: 562

Conservation and Protection Human Resource Metrics (Supervisory)

Operational: 470
Total: 507
Total FO : 613

Conservation and Protection Human Resource Metrics (Support)

Total: 194
Total Support: 194

Total Number of Charges Laid
(All fisheries in the last four years)
Region 2021 2022 2023 2024* Grand Total

Central & Arctic

7

4

5

1

17

Gulf

198

141

161

13

513

Ottawa (National Headquarters)

0

0

2

1

3

Maritimes

225

168

239

72

704

Newfoundland & Labrador

236

209

221

67

733

Pacific

332

114

77

13

536

Quebec

388

359

380

330

1457

Grand Total

1386

995

1085

497

3963

*Current to September 23, 2024

Total Number of Convictions
(resulting from the prosecution of fisheries-related offences in the last four years)
Region 2021 2022 2023 2024* Grand Total

Central & Arctic

3

5

0

4

12

Gulf

125

143

175

57

500

Ottawa (National Headquarters)

0

0

1

0

1

Maritimes

83

137

190

96

506

Newfoundland & Labrador

146

150

125

64

485

Pacific

354

356

274

139

1123

Quebec

56

105

113

47

321

Grand Total

767

896

878

407

2948

*Current to September 23, 2024

Total Violations Related to the Elver Fishery- 2024
Maritimes Region
Violation Type Total Violations*

Area/Time

44

Assault/Obstruct

14

Foreign - Unauthorized Entry/Fishing

2

Gear - Illegal/Used Illegally

11

Gear Conflict

1

Illegal Buy/Sell/Possess

118

Illegal Export

1

Illegal Transport

2

Inspection

2

Other Legislation

3

Registration/Licence

37

Reporting

2

Species/Size Limit

69

Grand Total

306

*Current to October 10, 2024

C4 - Elvers Management Review

Question 1: What is the Department Reviewing?

Question 2: Why did the Department not offer compensation for the 2022-2023 quota reductions from licences, or for the 50 per cent reduction being proposed in 2024?

Question 3: Will the review be completed and changes made ahead of a fishery in 2025?

Question 4: Is the Department considering creating new commercial elver licences other than the new access for First Nations communities?

Question 5: Has the Department considered the possibility of converting eel licences to elver licences?

Background

Elvers are juvenile American Eels. All American eel originate from the same spawning location in the Sargasso Sea and are all of the same genetic makeup, they are considered to be a single global population. The American eel population has decreased across eastern Canada in the last forty years. Canada is currently considering whether to list the species under the Species at Risk Act (SARA); if listed, prohibitions would apply, including to fisheries.

The elver fishery is managed with a total allowable catch (TAC) and site-specific river catch limits for each fishing location (rivers, streams, brooks) in licences. The TAC of 9960 kg has remained the same since 2005.

In 2022 and 2023, First Nation access was reallocated on an interim-basis from existing licence holder TAC. For 2023, there were eight commercial licences, one communal commercial licence, and two interim communal commercial licences covering 10 First Nation Communities.

In a Judicial Review (JR) brought by three non-Indigenous elver licence holders who disagreed with the approach of reallocating the 2022 quota, the Federal Court held that the Minister’s decision was procedurally fair and reasonable. This decision is currently under appeal and is tentatively set to be heard in mid-November.

Three JRs have also been brought in the Federal Court on the 2023 quota decision, and are currently awaiting the Court’s decision.

Two JRs have been brought in the Federal Court in relation to the 2024 decision not to open the fishery. Both of these matters are in preliminary stages.

The elver fishery has become extremely lucrative in the past 10 years, with landed value rising from $450 per kilogram (kg) in 2009 to approximately $5000 per kg in 2023, with a peak value of $5,100 per kg in 2019.

In comparison to other commercial fisheries, the investments required to harvest are relatively low. As a live-fish fishery, there are additional costs to managing species once harvested. Coupled with its high value, this has resulted in significant unauthorized harvesting in this fishery.

Due to the limited extent of access held by First Nations who assert a right to fish elvers in pursuit of a moderate livelihood, there is considerable risk of ongoing and high levels of unauthorized fishing by Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in the Region, creating instability in the fishery. Greater fishery access for First Nations could help to mitigate these risks.

Reports of fishing outside the DFO authorized commercial elver fishery has steadily increased over the last decade. In the spring of 2020 and 2023, as a result of significant unauthorized fishing activity by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous harvesters, the Minister issued a Fisheries Management Order to close the fishery. Due to these ongoing concerns, the fishery was not re-opened in 2024.

Unauthorized harvest of elvers poses a significant safety concern for harvesters, fishery officers and other members of the public. DFO received numerous complaints of disputes between harvesters and responded to reports of gear tampering, situations involving threats to harvesters and fishery officers, intimidation, and vandalism of public property.

In February 2024, letters were sent to elver fishery licence holders from the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, stating that the Minister was contemplating not issuing licences for the 2024 fishing season and sought their feedback. After consideration of all feedback received, the Minister’s decision not to issue elver licences in the Maritimes Region in 2024 was announced in March 2024, via a public statement and letters to licence holders.

The Department is currently consulting on a potential reallocation of 50 per cent of the overall total allowable catch to support increased participation to First Nations through the issuance of communal commercial licences. The Department is also engaging with those with past experience harvesting in the fishery and large eel licence holders on a further reallocation (in addition to the 50 per cent) to accommodate new commercial individual entrants to the fishery on a pilot basis. Letters were sent to First Nations communities and current licence holders in June 2024, detailing the proposal on the 50 per cent and in October 2024 regarding the new pilot. The potential impact to individual allocations of current licence holders has not been determined.

Proposed regulations for elver possession and export and the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement (RIAS) were posted to Canada Gazette, Part I on June 29, 2024, for a 70-day public comment period that closed on September 7, 2024. Work towards regulatory development are ongoing. These regulations would require a licence for the possession and export of elver to allow the Department to better oversee these areas of the supply chain.

The Department has assembled a team of experts to lead in the development of a new traceability system to track the movement of legally fished, possessed, and exported elver by weight in Canada. Substantial progress has been made toward building the system and engaging with potential future users of the system.

Consultations and engagements with all stakeholder and rightsholder groups will continue throughout the management review process, to gather perspectives and feedback on the three pillars of this review.

C5 - Redfish and Shrimp Fisheries

Question 1: Has the re-opening of the redfish fishery benefitted Gulf shrimp harvesters?

Question 2: Will Fisheries and Oceans provide further compensation to Gulf shrimp harvesters to help them get through this crisis?

Background

Since the start of the 2023 season, landings of northern shrimp in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence (EGSL) have been described as "spectacularly catastrophic" by fishermen and processors. Catch rates in the busiest fishing areas are at 50 per cent of what they were last year.

These low catch rates combined with high operating costs are creating major profitability issues. Several fishing companies and processing plants are facing major financial difficulties, and the low volumes caught to date are already having economic repercussions in certain communities in New Brunswick (NB), Quebec (QC) and on the west coast of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL).

The latest Stock Assessment of Northern Shrimp in the EGSL concluded that three of the four stocks are currently in the critical zone of the applicable precautionary approach, and that their respective biomass values are the lowest observed since 1990.

Warming and oxygen depletion in deep waters, as well as increased predation by redfish appear to be major factors contributing to the decline and lower productivity of these stocks. The ecosystem changes observed in the EGSL indicate a heightened risk to the sustainability of stocks, and consequently to the entire ecosystem of which it is a part, due to its role as a forage species.

At the advisory committee meeting held on October 31 and November 1, fleet representatives from QC, NB and NL reiterated their dismay at the anticipated reduction in quotas. They rejected the revised Precautionary Approach proposal and called for an ecosystem-based management approach that would take into account redfish predation levels.

They also recommended opening the commercial redfish fishery in Unit 1 as early as the 2024 season, and called for the rapid implementation of a government assistance program to help finance fleet rationalization and the transition to the redfish fishery.

On January 26, 2024, the Minister announced the re-opening of the commercial Redfish fishery in Unit 1, with a 10 per cent allocation going to EGSL shrimp harvesters.

On May 31, 2024, the management plan for the 2024 Redfish Unit 1 commercial fishery was announced, including a total allowable catch of 60,000 tonnes. The EGSL shrimp allocation for the 2024-25 fishing season is 5,500 tonnes.

The 10 percent allocation provided in the January 26 decision will be supplementary to any allocation held by EGSL shrimp harvesters in the inshore and midshore allocations.

The critical zone status of three of the four Gulf shrimp stocks has triggered the obligation under the Fisheries Act to develop a rebuilding plan.

The plan will have to be implemented by October 2025 at the latest according to the regulatory deadlines. The stakeholder consultation will take place in autumn 2024 and winter 2025.

C6 - Atlantic Mackerel

Question 1: If pressed on observations of a healthy stock

Question 2: If pressed on the rebuilding plan

Background

The most recent stock assessment was held in February 2023 and determined that the Atlantic mackerel stock biomass was at a historically low level in 2021 and 2022, and the rebuilding potential is limited by low recruitment, high predation pressure, and a collapsed age structure due to overfishing. The results of the next stock assessment are expected in March 2025.

Many industry members disagree with the stock assessment, and report observations of a healthy, abundant stock. They have called on DFO to open a small-scale fishery to increase data collection efforts to bridge the disconnect between science and observations on the water.

The Atlantic Mackerel Rebuilding Plan was approved on April 12, 2024 and was published on the DFO website on August 12, 2024.

The primary objective of the Atlantic Mackerel Rebuilding Plan is to rebuild the stock above the LRP with a 75 per cent probability over an 18-year period. The secondary objectives include: promoting a positive stock growth trajectory over a 2-year period; improving monitoring; enhancing measures to reduce post-discard mortality; enhancing scientific knowledge, including the use of Indigenous knowledge; increasing bilateral cooperation and coordination with the U.S.; and providing fishing opportunities while achieving stock rebuilding.

The bait fishery occurred in all DFO Atlantic regions and was implemented as an open competitive fishery. Approximately 439.6 tonnes (93.5%) of the 470 tonne bait quota was landed. The breakdown of landings is as follows: Maritimes Region (67.5 tonnes), Gulf Region (311.8 tonnes), Quebec Region (37.1 tonnes), and Newfoundland and Labrador Region (23.3 tonnes).

C7 - Seal Management Framework and Market Access

Question 1: What is the Department’s current seal management framework approach?

Question 2: What is the Government doing to regain access to international markets?

Background

DFO manages commercial harvests for grey, hooded, and harp seals in the Atlantic region; there are currently no fisheries for seals or sea lions in the Pacific region, however, there is a food, social, and ceremonial (FSC) harvest. The harvest of pinnipeds for FSC purposes is permitted across Canada.

The commercial harvest of harp seals typically occurs between late March and May in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. Hooded seals are harvested within the Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) region at the same time as the harp seal harvest; however, they are not the primary targeted species, and removals are minimal. Commercial harvest for grey seals occurs from late January to early February in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

DFO has dedicated seal scientists and ongoing seal science activities, which include surveys and assessments to determine seal abundance, population trends and distribution.

In 2009, the EU introduced a general ban on placing seal products on the EU market, and subsequently introduced exceptions for seal products originating from Indigenous subsistence harvests and for the personal use of travelers returning to the EU.

As part of the European Commission’s public consultation on the European Union’s (EU) regulations on the trade of seal products, the Government of Canada provided a submission letter, signed by the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, alongside several other Canadian Ministers, such as Minister Joly, MacAulay, Vandal, Hutchings, and Ng on August 6, 2024. Canada’s written response calls on the EU to repeal its Regulation on the Trade in Seal Products and is posted publicly on the European Commission’s consultation website.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has supported market access, including navigating EU recognition of Indigenous seal products via the Certification and Market Access Program for Seals (CMAPS), began as a five-year, $5.67 million program.

Seal harvesters are receiving funding through the Canadian Fish and Seafood Opportunities Fund (CFSOF), through two projects with the sealing industry, totaling $4.5M, with the purpose of strengthening the sector and market conditions for Canadian seal products in domestic and international markets. 

Sealing industry proponents are also eligible for project funding under the Atlantic Fisheries Fund (AFF) and the Quebec Fisheries Fund (QFF). Projects under AFF and QFF aim to help Canada’s seafood sector transition to meet growing market demands for products that are high quality, value added, and sustainably sourced. Combined, these funds have invested $1.3M in eight projects with the sealing industry in Atlantic Canada and Quebec related to product development, processing equipment upgrades and professional capacity building.

Under the Indo-Pacific Strategy, the Department is working with the seal sector to support them as they expand into these markets and leverage opportunities such as the Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food Office in the Philippines and the 2024 trade missions to the region.

C8 - Ghost Gear and Whalesafe Gear

Question 1: What actions will the Department be taking going forward on Ghost Gear?

Question 2: Will there be additional ghost gear funding for projects?

Question 3: How is the Department ensuring that whalesafe fishing gear will not cause hardship to Canadian fish harvesters?

Question 4: How will we know that these whalesafe gear innovations help reduce harm to whales?

Background

Ghost Gear

The term 'ghost gear' refers to any fishing gear that has been abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded (for example nets, line, rope, traps, pots, and floats). It is a form of marine pollution that can be fatal to fish, marine mammals and other marine life, poses a navigation hazard, and may break down into other forms of pollution such as microplastics.

The Government of Canada, working with partners and stakeholders, has made significant progress tackling lost fishing gear, known as ghost gear, in Canada and abroad through the Ghost Gear Program.

Canada has been at the forefront of addressing this issue, signing the Global Ghost Gear Initiative in 2018, establishing a Ghost Gear Program in 2019, mandating lost gear reporting in 2020, and sharing lost gear reporting data with the Global Ghost Gear Initiative’s Data Portal in 2022 and again in 2024.

As part of the program, specific funding periods were created under the Ghost Gear Fund to support projects focusing on ghost gear retrieval, disposal, technological advances and international leadership.

Since 2020, the Ghost Gear Fund contributed a total of $58.3 million to 143 projects. Funding recipients who focused on retrieval were able to recover over 37,153 units, or 2,261 tonnes, of gear, as well as 885 km worth of rope from our waters.

We thank our partners who participated in projects during those funding periods to help keep our waters clean from fishing gear debris.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is working on a Canadian Ghost Gear Action Plan to prevent fishing gear loss in the future. We will continue to support our partners in their efforts to keep our waters free from fishing gear debris.

Whalesafe Gear

Entanglement is a known threat to several whale species on Canada’s east and west coasts, including Humpback Whales, and the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale.

Some third-party eco-certification bodies are suspending fisheries’ certification because of the general risk of North Atlantic Right Whale entanglement, and we will continue to work with a range of fisheries to support their market access.

Whalesafe gear designed to prevent and alleviate entanglement harm augments the Government’s current approach of using dynamic fishery management measures to remove entanglement risk when North Atlantic Right Whales are detected.

We are undertaking extensive engagement this fall to receive written and in-person input that will help develop Canada’s Whalesafe Fishing Gear Strategy.

The Whalesafe Gear Strategy will prioritize the reduction of risk in the fisheries that present the greatest entanglement risk, and will guide expansion into more fisheries based on scientific risk assessment.

C9 - CESD Audit: Marine Fisheries Catch

Background

The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) Performance Audit “Monitoring of Marine Fisheries Catch” focuses on whether Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) obtained dependable and timely fisheries catch monitoring information and whether the Department used that information in support of its decisions to sustainably manage the harvesting of commercial marine fisheries.

Overall, the report found that DFO remained unable to collect dependable and timely data and provided four recommendations to DFO. These recommendations include streamlining the implementation of the Fishery Monitoring Policy, expediting the implementation of an integrated national fisheries information system, completing the review of third-party observer programs, and developing and implementing a nationally consistent procedure for systematically tracking whether third-party observers deliver fisheries catch monitoring information as required in terms of coverage, timeliness, and data quality.

DFO agrees with the recommendations of the Performance Audit and continues to make improvements to the management of our fisheries based on the best available scientific evidence.

The Department is working on developing an accelerated delivery plan for the Canadian Fisheries Information System to speed up the availability of key data collection and information management capabilities for fisheries monitoring. Modernized information technology capabilities that support catch monitoring decisions, such as the expansion of Electronic Logbook coverage, will be delivered incrementally, and completed by 2027.

Review of third-party observer programs, which includes the At-Sea Observer and Dockside Monitoring programs, and delivery of catch monitoring information will continue the review of the third-party monitoring program. This review will attempt to identify any regulatory or program delivery model gaps that prevent the Department and third party monitoring companies from collaboratively achieving the efficient and effective monitoring of fish stocks.

Specific steps taken during the review will include, formally aligning the At-Sea Observer and Dockside Monitoring program policies, strengthening the conflict of interest management protocols, and the establishment of an internal working group.

In addition to the review, the department is exploring the feasibility of a nationally consistent approach to integration and submission of electronic data by third-party monitoring companies. This will increase access to and confidence in data used to make fisheries management decisions.

C10 - Inshore Regulations: Owner Operator and Fleet Separation

Question 1: What are you doing to prevent processors from having controlling agreements over licence holders?

Question 2: What has your Department done to date to implement the inshore regulations?

Background

In 2021, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) introduced amendments to the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985, and the Maritime Provinces Fishery Regulations, commonly referred to as the “Inshore Regulations”, which enshrined elements of key DFO policies (including the Owner-Operator, as well as Fleet Separation, and the Preserving the Independence of the Inshore Fleet in Canada’s Atlantic Fisheries - PIIFCAF) into regulations.

The intent of enshrining these policies into regulations was to respond to stakeholder concerns (inshore harvesters, fleets, and industry associations) that a licence holder’s ability to make independent decisions in their own best interest was being compromised by the proliferation of agreements and arrangements between licence holders and third parties, and to strengthen the Department’s enforcement measures.

Through the inshore regulations, Owner-Operator has two primary criteria. Specifically, the regulated criteria:

The inshore regulations are applied through Licensing administrative review processes and through Conservation and Protection enforcement measures.

Licensing concentrates its effort on one part of the new regulations: determining the eligibility of licence holders (or future licence holder) at the time of issuance (or reissuance) according to the principle that they cannot transfer the rights and privileges associated with their licence(s) to a third party.

The enforcement aspect of the regulations allows DFO to prosecute the licence holder and third parties.

A well-defined administrative review process is in place. At the onset, DFO requires all licence holders at the time of licensing fee payment to self-declare via the National Online Licensing System that they have not transferred any of their rights and privileges.

Confirmation of eligibility is done based on reviews of selected applicants. There are three kinds of reviews:

In all review types, a questionnaire is sent to the applicant and all documents relevant to the transaction or the fishing enterprise are requested for review. A national Task Team and executive oversight is in place to support the review of complex cases and to ensure consistency in decision-making across regions. Enforcement actions are active and on-going. Details on specific cases cannot be shared to protect the integrity of on-going investigations.

Since the inshore regulations came into effect in April 2021 over 3,600 administrative reviews have occurred and in nearly 1,600 instances (44 per cent) additional information was required by Fisheries and Oceans Canada to complete the eligibility determination. In 220 reviews (six per cent of total) one or more agreements were revised to achieve compliance. This data is provided publicly and is updated every six months on the DFO website.

C11 - Small Craft Harbours

Question 1: What are you doing to ensure the Small Craft Harbours program is working closely with Harbour Authorities?

Background

Small craft harbours (SCH) provide key support to the commercial fishing industry. The mandate of the Small Craft Harbours program is to keep the harbours that are critical to the fishing industry open and in good repair.

SCH’s ongoing regular budget is approximately $90 million, of which $20 million covers administrative costs.

In April 2024, the Government of Canada announced that, as part of Budget 2024, $463.3 million over three years will be invested for the repair and maintenance of small craft harbours, including those damaged by Hurricane Fiona, starting in 2024-25.

The Small Craft Harbours (SCH) program is responsible for 949 harbours: 691 core fishing harbours; and 258 non-core harbours.

Approximately 90 per cent of the Canadian fish harvest is landed at harbours operated through the SCH program.

Another key objective of the SCH program is to transfer ownership of designated harbours to third parties, particularly those that are not widely used by fishers or that are focused primarily on recreational boating.

C12 - Fisheries Decision Making

Question 1: What principles guide the fisheries decision making process?

Question 2: When are harvest level reductions considered?

Background

The Government of Canada has federal jurisdiction over coastal and inland fisheries, and the Fisheries Act gives the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard authority over fish harvesting decisions. The Minister has the authority to determine: how much is fished, who gets to fish, and when and how stocks can be fished.

The Department also has international fisheries responsibilities, with more than 20 per cent of Canada’s fish stocks managed in cooperation with international counterparts.

Fisheries management decisions have a range of impacts on coastal communities and Canadians as a whole.

The Sustainable Fisheries Framework (SFF) is the foundation for an ecosystem approach to fisheries, which aims to consider the impacts of fishing on all components of the aquatic environment. The SFF continues to evolve as new legislation, policies, and tools are created. The SFF consists of various policies and tools: Precautionary Approach Framework (includes the development of Rebuilding Plans), specific policies (e.g., sensitive benthic areas; new fisheries for forage species; by-catch), Sustainable Fisheries Survey and Integrated Fisheries Management Plans.

The Precautionary Approach involves taking cautious decisions to avoid serious harm to the resource in the absence of scientific information or when scientific information is uncertain, unreliable or inadequate. This approach is widely accepted as an essential part of sustainable fisheries management. Applying the precautionary approach to fisheries management decisions entails establishing a harvest strategy that:

Fisheries management decisions and harvest strategies are designed to promote and maintain fish stocks within the healthy zone. In the cautious zone, decisions and strategies promote stock rebuilding to the healthy zone. In the critical zone, stock growth is promoted and removals are kept to the lowest possible level.

C13 - Science in Support of Decision Making

Question 1: How is fisheries science consolidated in fisheries management decisions?

Question 2: What is the Department doing to ensure impartial and transparent science?

Background

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science provides information, analysis and advice on key areas in support of decision-making, including sustainable fisheries, species protection and recovery, impacts of aquaculture on ecosystems, environmental and risk assessments, oceans management, and emergency response.

Departmental scientists conduct mandate-driven research to inform management decisions. Departmental monitoring programs provide long-term data to help understand and react to changes in the water.

The Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) provides a consistent and systematic process for the delivery of peer-reviewed science advice for DFO. CSAS ensures an inclusive and transparent scientific process and can involve experts from DFO, other organizations (such as environmental non-government organizations, etc.), stakeholders (such as fishing industry, shipping industry, oil and gas industry, etc.), Indigenous groups and academia. These experts are subject to DFO’s policies including with respect to managing Conflict of Interest.

Through the CSAS processes, experts consider the body of relevant scientific work and review existing data and analyses to generate evidence-based science advice to inform decision-making relevant to DFO’s mandate.

As a science-based Department, scientific integrity is essential to the work at DFO and of its employees. Scientific integrity is critical to the decision-making process, from the planning and conduct of research to the production of advice and the application of advice to the Departmental decision-making processes.

The Department’s Scientific Integrity Policy recognizes the importance of high quality science, free from political, commercial and client interference and the importance of this in the decision-making processes utilized by the Department.

C14 - Multinuclear Sphere X- MSX - Oyster Disease

What measures are being taken to limit the spread of MSX?

What is the Department doing to support MSX research?

Background

Canada’s National Aquatic Animal Health Program, co-delivered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), is responsible for preventing the introduction and/or spread of significant diseases of finfish, molluscs and crustaceans.

The CFIA is the lead agency with legislative authority under the federal Health of Animals Act. The CFIA is responsible for enforcing regulations governing import and export, disease management and surveillance activities. DFO provides diagnostic testing services, research support, and scientific advice.

Since July 2024, the CFIA has declared numerous Primary Control Zones (PCZ) in Prince Edward Island where the disease has been detected or is suspected to exist. Testing of other sites is ongoing.

To help mitigate the spread of the disease, both the CFIA and DFO are limiting the movements of oysters through their respective processes. CFIA is also consulting with industry on next steps.

To date, there has been little to no change in exports.

Reported mortalities of oysters thus far are from the original detection site. No mortalities have yet been reported in farmed or wild populations at other suspected or confirmed infected sites.

C15 - Seal Science, Collaboration and External Research

Question 1: Who does seal science?

Question 2: What science research is underway?

Background

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) seal and sea lion science focuses on assessing the abundance of commercially-important, subsistence-harvested and at-risk species.

Seal and sea lion surveys and research often take place in remote locations (e.g., sea ice, isolated oceanic islands) and harsh winter conditions and benefit from external collaborations.

Funding for four externally-led research projects to improve our understanding of the role of pinnipeds in the ecosystem was announced in September 2023.

Arctic region has community-based monitoring and sampling programs in Ulukhaktok, NT and in 21 communities across Nunavut – these long-running programs (since 1992 and 1973, respectively) provide samples and information used to study the diet and health of seals and other Arctic marine mammals.

Pacific region is collaborating with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization (NOAA) to document the presence and abundance of sea lions hauled out in Pacific Rim National Park using a remote camera system.

Quebec region is collaborating with Aarhus University, Technical University of Denmark and the Ocean Tracking Network to use acoustic and satellite tagging to study harbour seal predation on salmon species in Europe – this project will develop technological and statistical methods that may be used in Atlantic Canada.

Maritimes Region is collaborating with researchers from Texas Tech University and University of Alaska-Fairbanks on projects that will provide samples for grey seal diet estimation and contribute to the long-running dataset needed to estimate age and sex-specific survival to inform the grey seal assessment model.

Newfoundland and Labrador region is collaborating with DFO-Arctic region, NOAA, the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources and the Norwegian Polar Institute to investigate the population structure of bearded seals across the Arctic.

C16 - Aquaculture Science

How are external experts in aquaculture science advice processes identified?

What aquaculture science advice is coming next?

Background

DFO’s aquaculture science research is conducted to inform decisions related to aquaculture-ecosystem interactions and impacts such as effects of pests and pathogens and potential fish health treatment and management; interactions between farmed and wild fish; release of organic matter and drugs from farms; and, potential habitat impacts.

Science advice is delivered through the Department’s Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS). Since 2019, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has completed 25 CSAS advisory processes related to aquaculture.

This included providing peer-reviewed science advice on, for example:

Additional CSAS advisory processes are scheduled for the current fiscal year, or have recently been completed:

The Department is currently also undertaking a review and update of its 2009 science advice on the effects of aquaculture on the ecosystem (‘Pathways of Effects’). This work will update the state of knowledge and is also expected to highlight potential future research directions that will help inform our aquaculture science program priorities going forward. This work has started and will be completed in 2025.

C17 - Aquaculture Transition Plan in British Columbia

Question 1: Why is the Plan not more detailed?

Question 2: Why is Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada leading consultations?

Background

On June 19, 2024, the Government of Canada released a Policy Statement which included a commitment to implement a ban on open net-pen salmon aquaculture in British Columbia coastal waters by June 30, 2029.

The draft Plan was released on September 20, 2024.

In June 2024, salmon aquaculture licences were renewed for five years; these renewed licences have stricter conditions to ensure improved management of sea lice on farmed fish, robust reporting requirements for industry, and additional monitoring of marine mammal interactions.

After July 1, 2024, only marine or land-based closed-containment systems will be considered for new salmon aquaculture licences in coastal British Columbia.

C18 - Aquatic Invasive Species

Question 1: What is the Department doing to stop the introduction of aquatic invasive species at the international border?

Question 2: What is the Department doing to address invasive green crab on Canada’s coasts?

Background

The 2022 Fall Economic Statement identified $36.6 million over five years to fight aquatic invasive species (AIS) in Canada.

This included $8.75 million in contribution funding to launch the Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Fund to create new partnerships and help on-the-ground preventive actions.

Budget 2022 identified an additional $45 million over five years and $9 million ongoing to enable the Department and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to increase efforts to control Sea Lamprey, further facilitate collaborative fishery management, and provide additional support to Great Lakes research.

International Borders

Following the 2019 report from the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has been working closely with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to develop new protocols, tools, and procedures for the enforcement of the Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations at international borders.

Since 2022, DFO has worked with CBSA and the Province of Manitoba to run a watercraft inspection and decontamination station at the Emerson, Manitoba, port of entry. In addition, two blitzes on the Manitoba-Ontario border were conducted in 2024.

To support invasive mussel prevention efforts in British Columbia, the Department is providing up to $540,000 from 2023 to 2025 for the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation and provided an additional $475,000 in 2022-2023 to the province.

European Green Crab

European Green Crab (EGC) is a marine invasive species that consumes and/or competes with indigenous species such as shellfish, crabs, and lobsters and disrupts estuarine habitats such as eelgrass and saltmarsh.

Since 2010, a commercial EGC fishery was created in Maritimes Region to allow EGC use as lobster bait. The decision to support the use of AIS is not meant to create a sustainable fishery.

The Department is preparing regional test cases for EGC use, which will be used to inform a notional cohesive framework for the use of marine invasive species.

The Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers did not support the development of a national set of guiding principles on the use of AIS. DFO will therefore engage with provinces and territories bi-laterally when there is mutual interest.

C19 - Marine Conservation

Question 1: How are Oceans Act Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) identified?

Question 2: Will all sites identified in the Scotian Shelf Network Plan be designated as MPAs?

Background

MPAs are established under Canada’s Oceans Act for the purpose of conserving and protecting biodiversity, productivity, unique and/or sensitive features, species and habitats, and ecological integrity. To establish an MPA, Areas of Interest are first identified through:

The primary goal of the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy conservation network plan is to protect marine biodiversity in balance with the socioeconomic values and ecosystem services they provide – as outlined in the Framework for Canada’s National Network of MPAs. The conservation network plan for the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy Bioregion was designed using the best available ecological and human use information, and all ecological layers have gone through scientific peer review to ensure any negative socioeconomic impacts were minimized. For the plan, data inputs, conservation priorities, and design strategies were informed by commercial fisheries, oil and gas information, aquaculture and other uses as well as three formal scientific peer-review processes through the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat in 2012, 2014, and 2016.

Potential economic impacts from MPAs and other types of spatial conservation measures can be minimized by either avoiding the most important areas for commercial fisheries or by using zoning to define different levels of protection in different areas in an MPA. Zoning levels can prescribe use and restrictions on various activities to minimize economic impacts while ensuring risks to conservation priorities are mitigated. In the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy Plan, adjustments were made to the proposed outer MPA design and limited use zones were introduced to all MPAs in this bioregion to allow access to compatible fisheries. This limits the potential for socioeconomic impacts to the fishing interests to $880,000 per year on average (2017-2021). This is a conservative estimate, assuming all impacted fishing activity would be lost, but the actual impacts are expected to be lower as fisheries quotas will remain unchanged and can still be caught outside of restricted portions of the MPA. Additionally, DFO is not proposing any restrictions on lobster fishing in any of the coastal MPAs in the Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy Bioregion.

C20 - Southern Resident Killer Whales: Emergency Order

Question 1: When will the Ministers form their opinion on imminent threats to Southern Resident Killer Whales?

Question 2: Who will be consulted on the making of an emergency order for Southern Resident Killer Whale?

Background

Key threats to Southern Resident Killer Whales include toxic contaminants, vessel noise, ship strikes/displacement, and low prey abundance (Chinook salmon). This wildlife species was listed on Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act as Endangered in 2003.

Under s. 80 of the Species at Risk Act, the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the competent ministers, make an emergency order to provide for the protection of a listed wildlife species. Competent ministers must make an emergency order recommendation if they are of the opinion that the species faces imminent threats to its survival or recovery, unless they are of the opinion that equivalent measures have been undertaken under another Act of Parliament, as per s. 81.

On June 6, 2024, Ecojustice submitted a letter to the Ministers of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada demanding that greater measures be taken to protect Southern Resident Killer Whales, including the issuance of a Species at Risk Act emergency order to address imminent threats to the survival and recovery of the species. In 2018, a similar petition was filed by environmental non-governmental organizations, followed by a judicial review, seeking an order to compel the recommendation for an emergency order under s. 80 of the Species at Risk Act. Although the competent ministers concluded that Southern Resident Killer Whales faced imminent threats at the time, the Governor in Council declined to make an emergency order after concluding other measures had or would be taken to protect the species, and after taking into account social, economic, policy, and other factors, and the broader public interest.

In their current letter, environmental non-governmental organizations state the status of Southern Resident Killer Whales has worsened since 2018 due to the intensification of threats from additional vessel traffic as a result of the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) Project, and anticipated vessel traffic related to Roberts Banks Terminal 2, and the proposed Tilbury Marine Jetty.

Initiatives that address key threats to Southern Resident Killer Whales have been and continue to be delivered through major commitments, such as the Whales Initiative and the Oceans Protection Plan. For example, there are multiple active Notices to Mariners that recommend vessel slow-downs and re-routing to reduce the risk of ship strikes and minimize the impact of noise in important and critical whale habitat. Marine Mammal Regulations under the Fisheries Act have also been amended to better protect marine mammals, including at-risk whales, from human disturbance (including oceans noise), by increasing minimum approach distances.

C21 - Eagle Gold Mine, Yukon

Question 1: What are the risks to fish and fish habitat? When will the site be remediated?

Question 2: What is DFO doing to address the issues on site?

Background

Eagle Gold Mine is the largest mine in Yukon. It is located on the traditional territory of the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun First Nation.

On June 24 a heap leach failure at the mine site resulted in the spilling of hundreds of millions of litres (approximately 4 million tonnes) of cyanide solution into the environment and forced the immediate halt of operations.

The Government of Yukon (YG) Department of Energy, Mines and Resources is the Lead Agency in relation to the incident.

In August, Victoria Gold Mine filed for bankruptcy and PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PWC) has taken over as the court appointed Receiver.

Federally, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is the lead regulator on the file given their mandate for pollution prevention and administration of the Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations under Canada’s Fisheries Act. Fisheries and Oceans Canada is in a supporting role given the potential for harm to fish and fish habitat.

While water treatment is being brought on line, water is being contained on site, with additional containment ponds being built. Getting on-site water treatment online is a priority to prevent discharge of contaminated water into the environment.

Diverting contaminated water into the environment could contravene subsection 36(3) which prohibits deposit of deleterious substances into fish frequented waters. Neither ECCC nor DFO can authorize the deposit of deleterious substances in this instance since deposits can only be authorized by way of regulations.

Groundwater contamination continues to be a concern with elevated levels of cyanide and heavy metals present. Efforts are underway to prevent contaminated groundwater from entering surface waters where it could pose a greater threat to wildlife and humans.

The First Nation of NA-CHO Nyäk Dun is being kept appraised of site conditions by the Receiver and Yukon Government and the Yukon Government is maintaining a webpage that provides site updates and notifications for the general public.

C22 - Traceability

Question 1: What is the Department doing in response to traceability?

Background

Assuring the traceability of seafood products in the Canadiam market is a shared responsibility between Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Agriculture and Agrifood Canada (AAFC), and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

DFO is responsible for the management of Canada’s fisheries and ocean resources in accordance with the Fisheries Act in order for Canadian fisheries to operate in a sustainable manner. DFO collects data on when, where and how fish are caught by vessels authorized to fly Canada’s flag. Additionally, foreign vessels in Canadian ports are inspected by DFO as part of enforcing the Coastal Fisheries Protection Regulations which implement much of the Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) domestically.

The PSMA is the only international binding fisheries instrument whose purpose is explicitly to prevent, deter, and eliminate IUU fishing, making it strongly aligned with key Canadian interests:

  1. to combat IUU fishing
  2. to support the sustainable use of fisheries resources and marine ecosystems
  3. to help prevent products of IUU fishing and related activities from entering Canadian markets

Canada is a strong advocate for the ratification and implementation of the PSMA at various international oceans- and fisheries-related fora.

Once a fish is offloaded at a Canadian port and sold to a buyer, it becomes a food product and falls under the responsibility of the CFIA, whose key priorities include food safety, consumer protection and animal health. The Agency enforces the Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFRA) and the Food and Drugs Act and applicable regulations as they relate to food safety. Most food businesses are required to keep records “one step forward and one step back”, allowing food to be traced from one point in the supply chain to the next.

At the border, requirements under CFIA’s Safe Food for Canadians Act are implemented on their behalf by the CBSA. CBSA receives release and accounting import data and makes release decisions based on CFIA, DFO and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) requirements. (ECCC is responsible for monitoring trade in CITES-listed species).

AAFC has the power to develop and implement “traceability, the aim of which is to provide, on behalf of the Government of Canada, non-regulatory, financial, technical and program assistance relating to the development and implementation of systems that will track and trace, by means of recorded identification, the origin, processing history, distribution and location after delivery of a food or beverage product, including fish and fish products”. In June 15, 2022, the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans (FOPO) presented a report on “Traceability And Labelling Of Fish And Seafood Products”. The report recommended that “the Government of Canada establish an interdepartmental task force led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and involving key agencies, supply chain participants and other stakeholders to develop a coordinated response to fish and seafood product mislabelling and to implement full boat-to-plate traceability for all fish and seafood products harvested, farmed or sold in Canada. This task force should also consider the creation of an oversight entity to enforce the effective implementation of the Canadian traceability and labelling system and to measure progress outcomes.”

The Government supported this recommendation and formed the Interdepartmental Task Force on Traceability in 2023 to provide leadership and facilitate strategic collaboration across departments and agencies and with external stakeholders, while advancing long- and short-term actions to address mislabeling and traceability issues.

C23 - Foreign Ownership and West Coast Engagement

Question 1: What else will the West Coast Commercial Fisheries Modernization Cover? 

Question 2: What of stakeholder concerns of foreign ownership and concentration among Atlantic processors?

Question 3: What is being done regarding concerns of money laundering in Canadian fisheries?

Background

A Government Response to the 2023 House Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans (FOPO) report titled “Foreign Ownership and Corporate Concentration of Fishing Licenses and Quota” was published on April 11, 2024. The Report’s 19 recommendations call for: the implementation of Atlantic inshore-style policies and foreign ownership limits in fisheries where they are not currently present; increased government oversight and collaboration; robust administration of the inshore regulations; and, improved supports for commercial harvesters.

The Government Response supports and/or acknowledges the majority of the recommendations (15 out of 19) as ongoing. The Response presents the upcoming West Coast Commercial Fisheries Modernization engagements as the main tool in which many of these recommendations and their potential impacts will be discussed with First Nations and stakeholders. The Response makes it clear that careful consideration of the potential impacts are required before any policy changes can be considered, and this requires hearing from a broad spectrum of voices and perspectives.

There is no national standard for foreign ownership limits for commercial fisheries in Canada, some restrictions on foreign access to commercial fisheries access are established through the Department’s regional licensing policies, which are designed to support the fishery’s unique management objectives.

In February of 2021, DFO strengthened the application of its foreign ownership restrictions in Atlantic Canada, requiring all future prospective licence holders to be at least 51 per cent Canadian throughout their full corporate structure.

On January 30, 2022, DFO launched a survey that was mandatory for all Pacific commercial licence holders, and all Atlantic and Quebec licences holders whose corporate structure were not already prescribed by regulation (inshore and communal commercial fisheries were excluded). The Survey found that, of those surveyed, ~two per cent of licence eligibility holders has some degree of foreign ownership; however, more work is required to understand alternative means of control and influence in the fishery, including concentration of access across all fishery participants and licence and quota leasing arrangements.

The West Coast Commercial Fisheries Modernization (WCCFM) engagement is taking place throughout 2024 and 2025. In fall/winter 2024, exploratory bilateral meetings are creating opportunities for the Department to share information with a broad set of commercial fishery participants, as well as learn about their unique perspective and desired outcomes for commercial fisheries in Pacific Region. These meetings provide opportunities to discuss representation on advisory boards, data transparency and other key issues raised by FOPO. In February 2025, multi-sectoral workshop-style meetings in coastal BC communities will allow participants to consider potential outcomes of WCCFM as well as discuss the options to achieve those outcomes.

C24 - Indigenous Moderate Livelihood Fishing

Question 1: How will the Government ensure that Indigenous peoples have the fishing licences (“access”) needed to exercise their rights?

Background

In 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada formally recognized the treaty right to hunt and fish for a moderate livelihood to 34 Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik First Nations in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and the Gaspé, Region of Quebec, as well as the Peskotomuhkati Nation at Skutik in New Brunswick (collectively referred to as “Treaty Nations”).

Over the past 24 years, Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has provided Treaty Nations over $630 million in funding for fishing licences, vessels, gear and training to help increase and diversify participation in commercial fisheries.

In 2017, DFO launched the Rights Reconciliation Agreements (RRA) process with Treaty Nations, with a mandate to negotiate enhanced fisheries collaborative management, fisheries governance and increased fisheries access, all while recognizing but not defining the Moderate Livelihood right.

The RRA mandate expired in April 2023, with DFO concluding seven RRAs with 15 Treaty Nations (40 per cent of the total Treaty communities’ population).

In 2021, a new pathway to moderate livelihood rights implementation was announced through the development of Moderate Livelihood Fishing Plans (MLFPs). MLFPs are conducted within established commercial seasons, include other restrictions similar to those of regular commercial licences, and are harvested exclusively by community members for their own benefit. Of note, these are understandings, not agreements. Since 2021, 16 understandings with 15 Treaty communities were reached.

DFO is working on a new path to best support Treaty Nations’ capacity to participate in fisheries, which has been informed by the lessons learned in nation-to-nation dialogue since 2017.

There are several active litigations related to the Treaty right, including a claim by a Treaty Nation challenging DFO’s implementation of the right, and a judicial review by an industry group challenging the legality of one of the RRAs.

The Department continues to have regular and frequent meetings at various levels with non-Indigenous fishing industry stakeholders to answer questions about moderate livelihood fishing. However, industry remains critical of being excluded from discussions with Treaty Nations and lack of transparency regarding Canada’s long-term approach to rights-based fishing.

C25 - Internal Measures to Tackle Systematic Racism

Question 1: What internal activities is the Department undertaking to eliminate systemic racism against Indigenous Peoples?

Question 2: What is the Department doing to ensure representation of Indigenous Peoples within its workforce?

Background

Table 1. National workforce representation of Indigenous Peoples and the Workforce Availability (WFA) gaps over the past years
Fiscal Year 2020-2021 2021-2022 2022-2023 2023-2024 2024-2025

Representation

695

762

774

776

777

WFA Gap

145

220

202

200

183

Executive WFA Gap

0

5

3

1

3

*Positive numbers indicate the workforce exceeds WFA, whereas negative numbers indicate the workforce fails to meet WFA or is underrepresented.

Although Indigenous representation is met nationally, we are continuing efforts to address the gaps which remain in some specific regions and sectors.

The Department has undertaken a number of specific activities in support of a representative workforce over the last year, including:

Additional efforts from the past year to eliminate systemic racism toward Indigenous Peoples include:

C26 - Treaty Negotiations on the West Coast

Q: What is this status of Treaty Negotiations and reconciliation agreements in British Columbia?

Background

Fisheries and Oceans Canada continues to be actively involved in multiple treaty and reconciliation negotiations and working towards concluding negotiations in the coming year. The Department is working with Indigenous Peoples at approximately 40 discussion/negotiation tables (Treaty/RIRSD Agreement/Fisheries Reconciliation Agreement negotiations) across British Columbia to explore new ways of working together to advance the recognition of Indigenous rights and self-determination.

DFO is prioritizing closing negotiations on over 12 treaties and reconciliation agreements over the next few years by resolving key fish issues, including negotiations at Kitselas and Kitsumkalum, K’ómoks, A-Tlegay Member Nations, Te’mexw Treaty Association tables, Lake Babine Nation, Gitanyow, Musqueam, and Douglas Treaty Nations.

C27 - Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels

Question 1: How many vessels were removed by the Government of Canada?

Question 2: What are the total costs to the Canadian Coast Guard and Small Craft Harbours to remove these hazardous vessels?

Question 3: Who is responsible for managing the ship breaking activities occurring at Union Bay, British Columbia?

Background

The Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act (WAHVA) became law in 2019. It strengthens owner responsibility and liability for vessels, makes it illegal to abandon a boat, and provides the federal government more powers to take action against problem vessels before they can pose even greater problems at higher costs.

The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) will work with the vessel owner to ensure the hazard is addressed. If the owner cannot be found, is unable to solve the problem, or fails to comply with a direction from the CCG, the Government of Canada can take direct and immediate action to prevent, mitigate or eliminate the risks that hazardous vessels pose.

The CCG is focusing on assessing the risks associated with each of the reported vessels to prioritize actions to remediate high risk vessels. Problem vessels can pose environmental, public safety, socio-cultural and economic risk. The focus is on mitigating the risk posed by each problem vessel, rather than removing all problem vessels.

As part of the Oceans Protection Plan Renewal launched in 2022, the CCG and Transport Canada are advancing the next phase of the comprehensive strategy to address wrecked, abandoned, or hazardous vessels by implementing long-term measures that include: coastal surveys to identify additional hazardous vessels; outreach to vessel owners on their WAHVA responsibilities; risk and technical assessments for vessels in the National Inventory; and, remediations of hazardous vessels nationally.

As part of Budget 2023, the Government of Canada announced the creation of an owner-financed Vessel Remediation Fund. It is anticipated that the coming-into-force of the regulatory charge to finance the fund will be in 2027, following external engagement to establish the regulatory charge and the timely issuance of an order by the Governor in Council to enable the fund.

The Vessel Remediation Fund will also support the CCG and Transport Canada in assessing and/or addressing vessels in cases where owners are unknown, are known but cannot be located, or fail to deal with their vessels themselves.

In July 2023, the CCG announced the launch of its new Compliance and Enforcement program. The goal of the program is to increase accountability for vessel owners whose actions create maritime hazards or pollution. The priority will be to work collaboratively with vessel owners to ensure they address their problem vessel, but the CCG will not hesitate to use all the legislative tools at its disposal if the owner fails to comply, including imposing an administrative monetary penalty or a fine.

In 2024, there has been significant media and public attention on the ship breaking and vessel recycling activities at Deep Water Recovery in Union Bay, British Columbia. There is an expectation that Fisheries and Oceans and the CCG will act to prevent any potential pollution coming from the facility from entering the marine environment. The CCG has undertaken recent assessments of the area and determined the vessels awaiting deconstruction at Deep Water Recovery are not a significant risk to pollute. As these vessels have been hauled up on land, above the highwater mark, they are subject to provincial jurisdiction.

C28 - Fleet Renewal

Question 1: Why are the project budgets still increasing?

Question 2: What are the most recent achievements?

Background

Since 2005, Canada has committed over $35 billion to advance the Canadian Coast Guard fleet renewal and sustain operations until new ships arrive. Large vessels currently included in this renewal are the following:

At Vancouver Shipyards, a launch ceremony occurred on August 17, 2024, for the OOSV, which is expected to be delivered in spring 2025. After construction engineering and long-lead items contracts for the MPV were announced on March 26, 2024, work is underway for the start of the construction, which is currently planned for late 2027. On February 8, 2024, work was also successfully completed on the prototype block for the Polar Icebreaker, for which slow-rate (pilot blocks) construction is expected to commence in December 2024.

At Chantier Davie, work to develop the initial design for PIB has begun, following the Ancillary Contract valued at $19.6 million (including taxes) announced by Canada on March 25, 2024. Canada also announced an Ancillary Contract valued at $16.47 million (including taxes) to Chantier Davie on September 19, 2024, to advance work on a Polar-class icebreaker.

At Irving Shipbuilding, an official event occurred on July 31, 2024, which included the keel laying for the first CCG AOPS and a ceremonial steel cutting for the second CCG AOPS. These two vessels are expected to be delivered in 2026 and 2027.

The CCG is also renewing its small fleet. On May 25, 2023, Canada announced an investment valued at $2.5 billion for up to 61 small vessels. To date, 31 small vessels have been delivered to the CCG, including 19 vessels acquired under the NSS, as well as 12 vessels pre-dating the NSS.

The CCG completed the renewal of its helicopter fleet with delivery of 15 new light-lift helicopters and seven new medium-lift helicopters. One light-lift helicopter that was lost in a crash in September 2022 is in the process of being replaced.

The CCG is also implementing interim measures to ensure continued delivery of critical services until new ships are delivered. This includes a comprehensive Vessel Life Extension program for the existing vessels, as well as the acquisition of three interim Medium Icebreakers, one interim Light Icebreaker and one interim light-lift helicopter.

C29 - Staffed Lighthouses

Question 1: Why has the Coast Guard closed the Pachena Point and Carmanah Point Lightstations in British Colombia?

Question 2: What is the Department doing to maintain the Heritage Lighthouses?

Question 3: Why did the Coast Guard not consult with local Indigenous communities prior to making this decision?

Question 4: Will the risk assessment be made public?

Background

Under the Oceans Act, 1996, the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) is mandated to provide Aids to Navigation (AtoN) services to assist mariners with the means to identify their position, stay within navigable waters, and avoid marine hazards. The CCG delivers on this mandate through a network of 17,000 AtoNs across Canada of varying types, sizes, structures, and management models. The lightstations are one type of structure that contains a major shore light. The operational requirement for each site is based on whether it is required to provide AtoN services based on the type and volume of traffic in the area.

On September 19, 2024, the CCG met with the Chiefs of Ditidaht, Pacheedaht, Toquaht and Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k:tles7et'h' Nations to discuss CCG’s decision to conduct the evacuation of light keepers from Carmanah Point and Pachena Point light stations due to safety issues regarding the slope stability on which various parts of the light keepers worksite and/or accommodations stand. This decision was presented to the Nations in the context of safety of CCG personnel where advanced consultation was not possible. An in-person meeting is planned for October 9, 2024, with all of the Nations. The immediate focus is on moving the light keepers from the light stations. Once the keepers are safely in their new positions at other light stations, CCG will work with DFO, who manage the buildings, and the Ditidaht, Pacheedaht, Toquaht and Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k:tles7et'h' Nations on the future of the two sites. This work is likely to take several years.

The CCG is modernizing its service delivery to include aspects of digital navigation services so that mariners can access digital information to make near real-time decisions based on ever-changing maritime conditions and ensure safe and secure passage in Canadian waters.

Traditional lighthouses are a large part of Canada's identity, history, culture, and landscape. The Government of Canada has designated several lighthouses under the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act and transferred some to new owners across Canada. This special status recognizes the historic importance of heritage lighthouses to Canadian communities.

The Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act was established to conserve and protect federally-owned lighthouses that have significant heritage value and is administered by Parks Canada. There are currently 23 staffed operational lighthouses designated under the Act that remain in the custody of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The Carmanah Point and Pachena Point lightstations, located on the west coast of Vancouver Island, are situated in close proximity to the steep slopes of the shoreline and have undergone a geohazard risk assessment, led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Real Property Branch. These assessments revealed site safety concerns that require immediate action by the Department to ensure the safety of the full-time, on-site CCG personnel. Staff have been offered and have accepted positions at alternate lightstations and are in the process of being relocated.

There will be no impact to mariners as the navigational aids at both sites are fully automated and have worked effectively without the need for human intervention since 2003. Carmanah Point and Pachena Point lightstations hold cultural and historical interest to the people of British Columbia and Canada, and especially to those who live in the area and hikers using the West Coast Trail. The CCG is working with other departments and stakeholders, who also use the two sites for non-Coast Guard-related purposes, to plan next steps.

C30 - Refocusing on Government Spending

Question 1: How will the Department achieve their targeted reductions without affecting services to Canadians?

Question 2: How will the Department avoid affecting employees?

Question 3: What are the impacts of the reductions on programs?

Question 4: What are the impacts of the reductions on Fisheries Science, Enforcement, and Small Craft Harbours?

Question 5: What is the “stop the clock” measure and why has it been implemented at the Department?

Question 6: What will be the impact of implementing “stop the clock” on employees?

Background

Budget 2023 included a commitment to bring the growth of government spending back to a pre-pandemic path.

As such, overall government spending reductions on travel and professional services, as well as a three per cent reduction of operating and transfer payment spending across all federal organizations was announced.

Savings from underutilized government spending will be shifted to priorities like health care and the clean economy. This is about smarter, not smaller, government.

The savings targets were established by the Treasury Board Secretariat and are based on DFO’s operating and transfer payments, and planned expenditures for professional services, minus exclusions for out-of-scope items (e.g., direct transfers to provinces or direct payments to individuals).

In addition to DFO, 80 departments, agencies, and crown corporations were asked to achieve cost savings targets. Agents of Parliament and small organizations are excluded from this review.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s breakdown of these reductions are as follows:
Reductions 2024-25 2025-26 2026-27 2027-28 and ongoing

Travel Reductions

9,539,000

9,539,000

9,539,000

9,539,000

Operating Reductions

40,992,711

60,019,193

83,924,743

74,532,306

Transfer Payments Reductions

3,035,589

3,259,094

9,559,094

18,899,094

ProfessionalServices Reductions

31,845,450

32,347,963

32,347,963

32,400,400

Total Reductions

85,412,750

105,165,250

135,370,800

135,370,800
Breakdown of these reductions by Reference Levels and Fiscal Framework amounts:
Fiscal Year Reference Levels Fiscal Framework Total

2024-25

83,518,224

1,894,526

85,412,750

2025-26

102,768,211

2,397,039

105,165,250

2026-27 and ongoing

126,973,761

8,397,039

135,370,800

The 2023 Fall Economic Statement announced that the government will extend and expand its Budget 2023 efforts to refocus government spending, with departments and agencies generating additional savings of $345.6 million in 2025-26, and $691 million ongoing. Combined with the $14.1 billion in refocused spending outlined in Budget 2023, the government will be saving $4.8 billion per year in 2026-27 and ongoing and returning the public service closer to its pre-pandemic growth track.

The “Stop the clock” provision suspends the calculation of accumulated time for the conversion of term employment to indeterminate. Their determinate employment contracts will continue until the stated end date. Once the suspension of the roll-over provision ends, any continuous term time that an employee had already accumulated with the Department prior to February 26, 2024, will count towards the cumulative working period and their status will be converted to indeterminate once their total cumulative working period reaches three years, less any periods that receive a sunset designation or leave without pay greater than 60 days as per the Directive on Term Employment. Our term workforce represents 12.7 per cent of our total term and indeterminate workforce.

C31 - Overtime at Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Question 1: Why does your Organization incur overtime?

Question 2: What are the overtime costs for Fisheries and Oceans Canada in Order Paper Question (Q-2870)?

Background

On September 16, 2024, Order Paper Question (Q-2870) was tabled, detailing the overtime costs incurred by Government of Canada departments and agencies since 2016. In comparison with other departments, Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s data are in the higher range.

The Department’s nine-year total of overtime expenditures is third highest at $407,980,585, behind Correctional Services Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada. Similarly, Fisheries and Oceans Canada ranks third-highest for numbers of employees who received over $10,000 in overtime payments in any given year. Over the nine years, Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s reported an average of 1,430 employees that fell within this category per year.

In comparing the highest payments made to a single individual per year, Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s reported $184,028 in 2023, which was the seventh highest amount reported by all departments over the nine years. The two highest amounts were reported by Public Health Agency of Canada and incurred at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic ($271,451 in 2021 and $249,758 in 2022).

In the Core Public Administration (CPA) overtime entitlements are defined in the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s Directive on Terms and Conditions of Employment (the Directive) and in the provisions of the relevant Collective Agreement.

Overtime is assigned at management’s discretion to meet a department’s operational requirements. This includes, for example, being called-back to work, or to address emergencies/urgencies or to address surges in workload.

An employee is entitled to overtime compensation when the overtime work is authorized in advance by the manager and is in accordance with the relevant collective agreement, and the Directive (where applicable).

Delegated managers are responsible for authorizing overtime work in advance and approving overtime/extra-duty timesheets, but are also expected to make reasonable efforts to avoid excessive overtime and to offer overtime work on an equitable basis, subject to operational requirements.

D - Annex

D32 - Minister’s Mandate Letter

Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Mandate Letter – December 16, 2021

D33 - Upcoming Fisheries Decisions (present to August 2025)
Region Fishery Description Key Messages

Maritimes

Elver - Mandate to Consult on Elver Commercial Fishery Distribution (Option 3)

Signed by the Minister on Sept 17 2024

A series of decisions will need to be taken in advance of the 2025 season, including with respect to access, allocation and total allowable catch (TAC).

I am committed to the conservation of American eel, with sustainability and orderly management as the top priorities for the elver fishery.

Over the last several years, the elver fishery has seen a pattern of increasing and very serious challenges, including safety and conservation concerns.

Since the closure of the commercial elver fishery on April 15, 2023, DFO has consulted with industry, First Nations and stakeholders to chart a path forward for the future of the elver fishery.

While they have made a great deal of progress, there is still more work to do as we work to opening the fishery if safe to do so in 2025.

Given the level of conservation and safety concerns in this fishery in the absence of substantial changes, it was highly likely that license holders, First Nations and fishery officers would have faced the same unacceptable issues that marked the fishery in previous years. Therefore, I took the decision not to open the elver fishery in the Maritimes Region in 2024.

Work is ongoing by the Department related to the possession and export of elver, changing how the fishery is managed, and enhancing the distribution of access to Indigenous harvesters. These changes are key to promoting compliance in this fishery and will also support deterrence and prosecution for non-compliance.

NCR

Unit 1 Redfish (Indigenous Access)

Decisions will be sought regarding Indigenous access to, and allocation of, the 10% quota allocated to Indigenous harvesters.

Subsequently, a decision on the 2025-26 management approach, including TAC, will be required by May 2025.

On January, 26, 2024, I announced the reopening of the Unit 1 Redfish commercial fishery with an allocation of 10 per cent of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) to Indigenous communities and organizations.

On May 31, 2024, I announced the Unit 1 Redfish management plan for 2024-25, which included a TAC of 60,000 tonnes,

Of the 60,000 tonne TAC, 10 per cent (5,500 tonnes) was allocated to Indigenous groups. For the first phase of the Unit 1 Redfish fishery, all Indigenous communities and organizations that hold a communal commercial mobile gear groundfish licence with access to Unit 1 have access, on a competitive basis, to the Indigenous allocation in the Unit 1 Redfish fishery.

This approach was informed by feedback from Indigenous communities and organizations through the Redfish Advisory Committee (RAC) in March 2024.

Due to the short lead time prior to the opening of the fishery, engagement on this interim approach was brief and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) recognizes the need for formal consultation on long-term access and sharing with Indigenous communities and organizations prior to launching Phase 2 of the fishery.

To that end, DFO is beginning consultations with Indigenous communities and organizations in the Atlantic provinces and Quebec on access and allocation sharing of the Indigenous allocation for Phase 2 of the fishery.

Decisions resulting from these consultations will take effect at the start of the 2026 Unit 1 Redfish commercial fishing season.

NCR

Section 10 Allocation Decision for Northern Shrimp

Seeking a ministerial decision to allocate 1,500 t of Northern shrimp for 2025/26, from Shrimp Fishing Area (SFA) 4, under Section 10 of the Fisheries Act to support the continuation the Northern Shrimp Research Foundation (NSRF) – Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) shrimp survey of SFA 4 and the Eastern Assessment Zone (EAZ).

Recently the SFA 4 allocation decisions have not been taken by the Minister until late April to late May.

Gear-up costs, expenditures and contract cancellation dates become financial risks the closer the allocation decision dates are to the survey start dates (especially when decisions on the S10 allocation are delayed/prolonged).

In years when the collaborative agreement (CA) is being renewed with NSRF, the allocation decision is needed before the CA can be signed. As such, getting that allocation decision completed earlier helps the department’s ability to get the CA completed well in advance of the survey work commencing.

NCR

Atlantic Mackerel

Decision to be sought in spring on management plan, including TAC, for the 2025 season.

The 2023 Canadian stock assessment found that Atlantic mackerel declined further in the critical zone since the last assessment, with spawning stock biomass at its lowest-observed values.

Atlantic mackerel plays a critical role in our ecosystem. We need Atlantic mackerel – and other pelagic forage stocks – to be healthy to protect our ecosystems and support the fisheries of the future.

The 470 tonne Atlantic mackerel bait fishery has helped licence holders supply their other fisheries with bait without jeopardizing the ongoing rebuilding of this stock. By releasing the quota in two equal parts, harvesters from different regions had a better opportunity for equitable access to Atlantic mackerel as the stock migrates through the waters of Atlantic Canada and Quebec.

The Atlantic Mackerel Rebuilding Plan was published on the DFO website on September 13, 2024.

Quebec

Northern Shrimp SFA 8, 9, 10 and 12

Seeking a ministerial decision on the TAC and management approach for the EGSL Northern Shrimp (SFA 8, 9, 10 and 12) for 2025.

A stock status update will take place at the end of November 2024 and will include harvest projections for the 2025 season based on different harvest control rules scenarios.

An Advisory Committee meeting will be held shortly thereafter, in December 2024, to gather industry perspectives.

The management decision for the 2025 season will take into account the latest scientific advice, as well as input from Indigenous partners, harvesters, the provincial government and other industry stakeholders.

Nfld & Lab

Northern Cod (2J3KL)

Seeking a ministerial decision on the 2025 management approach.

Peer review of the Northern cod stock assessment scheduled for March, 2025 (tbc). Commercial fishery re-opened in 2024 with a TAC of 18,000t

The Department will seek views from the 2+3KLMNO Advisory Committee on the management approach for 2025.

The 2025 Northern cod management decision will  consider the best available Science advice and input from Indigenous partners, harvesters, the provincial government and other industry stakeholders.

A 2025 management decision for Northern cod will be taken after the stock assessment and advisory committee meeting in late spring 2025.

Nfld & Lab

Capelin (4RST) & (2J3KLPs)

Seeking a ministerial decision on the 2025 management approach.

The Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) assessment for the 4RST capelin stock and the 2J3KLPs capelin indicated that neither stock was in the critical zone. The total allowable catch for 4RST capelin was set at 10,225t which is a rollover from 2023. The 2J3KLPs advisory committee was held in March; however, industry walked out due to the addition of ENGOs to the committee, and later submitted views directly to the department.

Nfld & Lab

Recreational Groundfish

Seeking a ministerial decision on the 2025 management approach.

The recreational groundfish fishery in NL primarily targets Atlantic cod in the NAFO management areas 2J3KL, 3Ps, and 3Pn4RS, with the highest concentration of activity occurring in 2J3KL (Northern cod stock area).

From 2018 to 2024, the annual season for the NL recreational groundfish fishery has been open for a total of 39 days; including a period of ten weekends in the summer (every Saturday, Sunday, and Monday), with an additional nine-day period in late September-early October. Management measures have included a daily bag limit of five groundfish per person and a maximum boat limit (when three or more people are fishing) of 15 groundfish.

A decision on the management approach for the 2025 recreational groundfish fishery in NL will take place in May, 2025. The Department will take the most recent science advice for all three stocks into account when making a management decision for NL’s recreational groundfish fishery for the 2025 season, along with stakeholder perspectives and other considerations.

Nfld & Lab

3Pn4RS cod (under moratoria)

Seeking a ministerial decision on the 2025 management approach.

Department will seek stakeholder perspectives on 2025 management approach through advisory committee process.

The 2025 management decision will consider the approved rebuilding plan for 3Pn4RS cod, key socio-economic considerations, science and stakeholder views.

NCR

Unit 2 Redfish Use of Fish

Seeking a ministerial decision for the approval to set aside an allocation of 1,500 tonnes of Unit 2 Redfish for 2025-26 under Section 10 of the Fisheries Act to support the continuation of a joint industry-DFO project to conduct a survey of Redfish off the south coast of Newfoundland and Labrador

The Department will seek views from Unit 2 stakeholders on the Total Allowable Catch and the continuation of a 1,500t allocation for the Use of Fish at the Redfish Advisory Committee meeting planned for late March (24-25, TBC) 2025.

The 1,500t Use of Fish allocation is the only source of science information for this stock, with the survey work being undertaken by the Atlantic Groundfish Council under a collaborative agreement with DFO Science. Unit 2 stakeholders supported maintaining the Use of Fish allocation for 2024-25. The decision on the use of fish allocation is pending.

Gulf

4RST Atlantic Halibut

Seeking a ministerial decision on the 2025-26 management approach.

In 2024, there was no new scientific assessment conducted for the 4RST Atlantic halibut stock. The most recent stock assessment (March 2023) informed the 2023-24 and 2024-25 TAC and indicated that the stock biomass and abundance are at a high level.

The Department sought stakeholder views of the Gulf Groundfish Advisory Committee (GGAC) on the TAC for 2024-25 on March 13, 2024. Views were also sought on the temporary transfer of Atlantic halibut quota from the mobile gear fleet to the inshore fixed gear fleets.

NCR

Atlantic Seal Harvest

Seeking a ministerial decision on DFO's management approach for harp, grey, and hooded seal harvest in Atlantic Canada.

A peer review meeting will be taking place in late 2024 and will include Harp seals population assessment, science advice for 2025-2029, and a review of the existing Atlantic seal management strategy.

The Atlantic Seals Advisory Committee will meet to gather industry perspectives, and make a management decision for the 2025 grey and harp seal seasons.

Maritimes

Unama’ki & Epekiwitk District Moderate Livelihood Lobster

With Minister’s Office

Options for the Authorization of the 2024 Unama’ki & Epekiwitk District Moderate Livelihood Lobster Fishery

The Department has identified three options to address ongoing concerns raised through consultation and discussions with the KMKNO on behalf of the communities regarding the implementation of the Unama’ki & Epekiwitk Aqq Piktuk Netukulimk Treaty Right Protected Fisheries Species-Specific Interim Lobster Fisheries Management Plan.

The proposed options respond to a request from KMKNO and their representative First Nations to implement and test a total allowable catch (TAC) based lobster fishery as opposed to the current trap allocation-based approach. Furthermore, the Department has learned, and the Plan indicates, that harvester interest to participate has increased significantly this season. However, the current available access is not sufficient access to authorize these additional harvesters.

Lobster seasons were undertaken in applicable LFAs from 26B to 31A in 2024, using the status quo from 2023. The KMKNO rejected the status quo approach and fished in accordance with their own plans. A decision related to KMKNO’s request remains outstanding.

Arctic

Greenland Halibut (Subarea 0A & 0B)

Seeking a ministerial decision on the 2025 total allowable catch (TAC) for Greenland Halibut in Subarea 0.

This TAC decision will consider the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization’s Science Council’s advice and the overall sustainability of the fishery, as well as stakeholder concerns on the economic and socio-economic impacts to Indigenous communities and Canadian fish harvesters. This decision will also consider advice from co-management partners, and include input from stakeholders.

Pacific

West Coast of Vancouver Island Chinook Rebuilding Plan (RP)

Seeking a ministerial decision on the approval of the West Coast of Vancouver Island Chinook rebuilding plan (RP) as per requirements under the Fish Stocks Provisions.

I have granted a 12-month extension for this rebuilding plan to allow for additional science work. This is permitted under the Fisheries Act. I will make my decision on this in the near future.

Pacific

Herring

Decision required on Herring IFMP.

Herring management has been controversial for numerous years, and attracts significant public attention. There are competing views about stock status, how precautionary DFO’s management should be, and how to support the priority of First Nations Food, Social, and Ceremonial fisheries.

D34 - Order Paper Questions

Overtime

June 17, 2024 - Earl Dreeshen (Red Deer-Mountain View, Alberta)

Question: With regard to overtime pay of all types for Government of Canada employees since January 1, 2016, broken down by year: (a) what is the total cost of overtime, broken down by department, agency, or other government entity; (b) how many employees had annual overtime payments over $10,000 in each given year, broken down by department, agency, or other government entity; and (c) what was the single highest annual overtime payment for an individual employee in each given year, broken down by department, agency, or other government entity?

Response: With regard to overtime pay of all types of Government of Canada employees since January 1, 2016, Public Services and Procurement will provide a response for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, including the Canadian Coast Guard.

Please see the attached annex for further details on the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation.

Travel

April 30, 2024 – Corey Tochor (Saskatoon-University, Saskatchewan)

Question: With regard to expenditures related to the Cabinet retreat which took place in Montréal, from January 21 to 23, 2024, including expenses incurred by the Privy Council Office as well as by other departments or agencies, and including travel expenses incurred by ministers, ministerial staff, and others: (a) what are the total expenditures related to the retreat incurred to date; (b) what is the breakdown of the expenditures by type of expense (accommodation, hospitality, audio-visual, etc.); (c) what are the details of all expenditures in excess of $1,000, including, for each, the (i) amount, (ii) vendor, (iii) description of the goods or services provided; and (d) what are the details of all travel expenses incurred by ministers and their staff, broken down by individual, including, for each, (i) the title, (ii) the amount spent on airfare, (iii) the amount spent on other transportation, (iv) the amount spent on accommodation, (v) the hotel or venue name, (vi) the amount spent on meals or per diems, (vii) other expenses, broken down by type?

Response: With regard to expenditures related to the Cabinet retreat which took place in Montréal, from January 21 to 23, 2024, and including travel expenses incurred by ministers, ministerial staff, and others, for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, please see the attached annex for details on part (d).Please note that Privy Council Office is responding to parts (a) to (c) on behalf of the government.

Cod

October 25, 2023 - Clifford Small (Coast of Bays-Central-Notre Dame, Newfoundland and Labrador)

Question: With regard to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans: (a) what was the average hourly catch rate, per net, of northern cod, broken down by area for fishing areas 2J, 3K and 3L, in 1988, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, for the commercial and stewardship fisheries; (b) what was the average catch rate, per net, of northern cod, broken down by area for fishing areas 2J, 3K, and 3L, in 1994, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, in the sentinel fishery program; and (c) what is the annual cost to carry out the sentinel cod fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador in 1994, 2005, 2015, 2020 and 2022?

Response: (a)Table 1 shows the catch rates for Divisions 2J, 3K and 3L for the years requested. Results from 2020-2023 have not yet been compiled but will be available during the March 2024 Northern cod stock assessment. Catch rates are separated by vessel size (>35 ft and <35 ft) and the units are in kg/net/trip (hourly estimates are difficult to obtain). The gillnet CPUE from 1988 is not comparable with the commercial catch rates post-moratorium. There was very little detailed information available for the inshore fisheries prior to the moratorium and there was no broad-scale information on catch rates collected from vessels < 35ft. In lieu of this, catch rates are provided starting in 1997/98 from a logbook introduced shortly after the moratorium.

Table 1. Catch rates for Divisions 2J, 3K and 3L for the years requested
Year < 35 ft > 35 ft
Div 2J Div 3K Div 3L Div 2J Div 3K Div 3L
1997 N/A N/A 24 N/A N/A N/A
1998 44 37 57 N/A 26 53
1999 10 31 62 N/A 41 73
2000 N/A 22 44 228 30 51
2001 N/A 20 46 N/A 25 73
2002 32 15 51 N/A 3 75
2003 N/A 3 12 N/A 3 34
2004 N/A 26 22 N/A 10 29
2005 N/A 17 28 N/A 28 45
2006 16 36 41 22 34 39
2007 18 53 55 N/A 51 39
2008 33 57 64 N/A 70 52
2009 36 39 76 N/A N/A 58
2010 23 36 67 N/A 44 50
2011 45 65 65 N/A 72 47
2012 41 109 67 N/A 126 53
2013 106 134 76 N/A 160 66
2014 125 166 119 N/A 174 103
2015 169 194 67 N/A 141 63
2016 118 102 91 N/A 102 84
2017 140 96 112 N/A 104 92
2018 79 123 106 N/A 138 98
2019 113 85 96 76 107 98

*Note that these CPUE values are not considered representative of stock size.

(b) Table 2 shows the average Sentinel gillnet survey catch rate in numbers of fish per net (5 ½ inch mesh). Sentinel participants record the daily number of fish (and their individual length) since weigh scales are not readily available to all Sentinel participants.

Table 2: Average Sentinel gillnet survey catch rate in numbers of fish per net (5 ½ inch mesh)
Year 2J 3K 3L

1995

0.19

4.64

8.09

2005

3.38

13.06

21.55

2010

2.44

15.56

26.26

2015

23.26

35.02

27.17

2017

15.18

21.43

27.58

2019

11.45

19.84

18.05

2020

17.02

16.24

19.82

2021

14.33

20.14

16.53

2022

8.55

20.54

15.91

(c) Table 3 shows the cost of Sentinel contract values by year which include projects with Fisheries Food and Allied Workers (FFAW), Fogo Island Co-op and Petty Harbour Fishing Co-op. The Sentinel program began in 1995, so costs for 1994 are not applicable, and costs for 1995 are not available. Sentinel Survey contract values for 1996 are provided, but please note that these costs include work conducted in 4R3Pn as well.

Table 3: Cost of Sentinel contract values by year
Year FFAW Fogo Island Co-op Petty Harbour Co-op Total

1996

$2,700,000*

$105,700

$73,000

$2,878,700

2005

$859,000

$97,000

N/A

$956,000

2015

$659,000

$45,000

N/A

$704,000

2020

$659,000

$45,000

N/A

$704,000

2022

$659,000

$45,000

N/A

$704,000

*Note that the 1996 FFAW contract amount includes costs for 4R3Pn Sentinel which could not be broken out from information available at the time of the request. Remaining amounts are for the 2J3KLPs portion of the Sentinel Survey.

D35 - West Coast, Yukon and Alaska

Pacific Salmon Support (Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative Investments)

Alaska Interception of Canadian Origin Salmon

Chilcotin River Landslide

Aquatic Invasive Species in British Columbia

Union Bay, BC – Deep Water Recovery (Ship Breaking Facility on east coast Vancouver Island)

Science in Support of Decision Making – Shrimp Assessment

D36 - Safety of Science Flights

Question 1: How is the Department ensuring it is safe to resume aerial surveys in eastern Canadian waters?

Background

Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Science has completed systematic aerial surveys in eastern Canadian waters (i.e., Gulf of St Lawrence, the Bay of Fundy, the Scotian Shelf, and offshore Newfoundland) from April to November, annually, since 2018. Since 2020, DFO Science has flown on average ~1500 hours per year with the primary purpose of detecting North Atlantic Right Whales (NARW) in eastern Canadian waters.

The aerial survey program aims to increase scientific knowledge about NARW distribution, movements, and behaviors in Canadian waters, while also supporting adaptive management measures to reduce the risk of entanglements and vessel strikes.

In 2024, DFO Science began NARW aerial surveys on April 16th. On August 9th, one of these planes contracted by DFO from Sasair Inc. crashed, resulting in the death of an employee.

DFO Science’s NARW aerial survey flights were paused on August 10th.

The Transportation Safety Board investigation is ongoing and some information is available on the website.

On October 4th, DFO Science NARW aerial surveillance resumed in a limited way.

Concurrent with the TSB investigation, DFO initiated an Occupational Health and Safety review of Quebec Region aerial survey protocols and procedures.

D37 - North Atlantic Right Whale – QP Card

If pressed on how we have worked with harvesters to adapt right whale protection measures

Background

So far in 2024, there is one reported mortality and four entanglements first sighted in Canadian waters.

In April 2024, the Minister announced the 2024 North Atlantic Right Whale (NARW) fisheries management measures, which remain unchanged from 2023.

In 2023, DFO continues to apply adaptive measures to prevent fishing gear entanglements, such as: changes to the open and closure dates of fisheries; dynamic and seasonal closure protocols in the Gulf of St. Lawrence; dynamic closure protocols in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Bay of Fundy, and critical habitat areas (Grand Manan Basin and Roseway Basin); and special closure provisions for sightings of whale aggregations, mother and calf pairs and waters shallower than 20 fathoms; focused surveillance using acoustic underwater technology (hydrophones), aircraft and vessels to confirm the presence of whales; continued ghost gear retrieval; and collaborating with Transport Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard to address the potential threats from vessel strikes.

The Department is finalizing the National Whale Safe Gear Strategy and shared a draft with stakeholders in July 2024.

On October 23, 2023, the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium released the most recent population estimate of 356 whales, which indicates a slowing in decline.

The Annual NARW Advisory Committee meeting was held in November 2023, preceded by a targeted meeting with Indigenous groups.

In 2021, the Department launched the Whalesafe Gear Adoption Fund, a two-year $20 million contribution program to support the purchase, adoption, testing and manufacture of whalesafe fishing gear, including lower breaking strength modifications and ropeless/rope on demand systems. This program supports 34 projects across Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

Since 2018, DFO has invested over $5.7 million to further enhance the Marine Mammal Response Program, which responds to marine mammals in distress, including disentanglement of NARWs. This funding is part of the $167.4 million Whales Initiative in Budget 2018 and $151.9 million in Budget 2023.

The NARW was listed as Endangered in the Species at Risk Act in 2004. It is predicted the species could become extinct in 30 years if the mortality rate is not significantly reduced.

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