Fisheries and Oceans

The committee was studying the review of the Fisheries Act, hearing from Jean-Sébastien Vacher, a commercial fisherman and former fishery officer; Nigel Buote, a commercial fisherman from Prince Edward Island; and Marcel Hébert and Réjean Noël of the Association des crabiers acadiens.

Jean-Sébastien Vacher identified two main barriers to enforcement: the excessive number of rules in licence conditions, which forces officers to focus on easy compliance checks rather than serious poaching, and a directive from his supervisors not to enforce the law against indigenous fishers, even those not authorized by a band council, to avoid legal disputes. He stated that this has allowed poaching networks, often run by indigenous fishers, to operate unchecked, undermining conservation data and creating a sense of injustice among non-indigenous fishers. He recommended that officers apply the act equally to all and focus on rules that impact resource management, and he noted that fines could be increased but enforcement is the key issue.

Nigel Buote testified that commercial fishermen in LFA 25 have funded conservation measures like trap buybacks and strict season closures, but these gains are undermined by unregulated fishing under food, social, and ceremonial (FSC) and moderate livelihood claims, with lobsters entering the illegal market. He reported that thousands of traps fished outside the commercial season and dumped lobsters have been reported to DFO without response, and he argued that unequal enforcement based on ethnicity erodes trust and conservation. He asked for 100% third-party dockside monitoring for FSC catches, a ban on leasing communal commercial licences to third parties, and equal rules for all harvesters.

Marcel Hébert and Réjean Noël stated that illegal snow crab landings are underestimated and contribute to an abnormally high natural mortality rate of 35% to 45%, threatening stock reproduction and future recruitment. They explained that inshore fishers receiving a small share of the quota from non-profit associations have an incentive to sell illegally for the full market price, and they noted that illegal landings often occur at undesignated docks or through transfers at sea. They requested limiting designated landing wharves, increasing fishery officers, installing cameras on wharves and vessels, using drones, and imposing harsher fines, and they noted that DFO has been collaborative but more action is needed.

During questions, members discussed the impact of ethnicity-based prosecution ratios on conservation, with Vacher and Buote agreeing it undermines the Fisheries Act’s primary objective. Vacher described being told by supervisors not to intervene with indigenous fishers, and Buote confirmed that DFO has tolerated illegal fishing by certain groups, leading to resentment. Hébert emphasized that dockside weighing in the crab fishery reduces illegal landings compared to the lobster fishery, and he warned that continued illegal fishing could push the stock from the healthy zone to the cautious or critical zone. The meeting concluded without any procedural debate, motions, or votes.