Nelson Sergerie
GRANDE-RIVIÈRE – A demonstration, bringing together about a hundred fishermen from Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Quebec, was held on the morning of February 20 in Grande-Rivière.
They are, once again, denouncing Ottawa’s decisions on redfish fishing quotas and distribution between fleets.
About fifteen people from New Brunswick and six from Newfoundland and Labrador travelled to the Gaspé Peninsula to participate in the demonstration.
The primary issue remains the profitability and the future of fishing, particularly for shrimp fishermen, but especially the presence of processing boats in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
“The issue for the coastal and mid-shore fishing industry, in general, is whether we allow the processing boats which process and freeze on board and which have very little impact, and, for Quebec, zero impact on coastal communities. Hundreds of jobs will disappear,” warns Claudio Bernatchez, the director general of the Association of Captains and Owners of the Gaspésie.
“If the captains continue to disappear and the plants no longer have anything to process and the fishing-related service companies can no longer operate, it will be totally catastrophic for the region,” adds the director.
The fishermen gathered in front of the Fisheries and Oceans offices in Grande-Rivière and then moved to the riding offices of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Member of Parliament for Gaspésie-Les-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Diane Lebouthillier.
“Unfortunately, I cannot see how our minister, who is here, who understands the situation, who has decried it in the past, was able to make announcements like that. It surely comes from higher up, from the Prime Minister’s office. But there is someone, somewhere, who had a harmful influence on the decision of January 26,” says Mr. Bernatchez.
According to him, an announcement should have been more thoughtful for the good of the communities to distribute wealth more equitably around the Gulf.
“The communication is there, I can tell you that but, currently, I am very cautious about the words and I can’t wait for the actions to confirm the words,” he says.
The objective of the demonstration was to spread the message of discontent in the Gulf of St. Lawrence following Ottawa’s announcements on shrimp and redfish.
The relaunch of redfish fishing will be carried out in two phases: phase one will be transitional lasting two years with a minimum quota of 25,000 tonnes and allocations of 10% reserved for shrimp fishermen, who are in difficulty given the decline in stocks, and 10% of the quota to Indigenous communities.
A committee has still not ruled on the final quotas to restart fishing this year.
Phase 2 will be that of development to establish a fishery with a modernized allocation key.
The ministry specified that the preliminary quotas would be established as follows: Newfoundland and Labrador: 19% (+2.0); Nova Scotia: 33% (-5.8); New Brunswick: 11% (+3.1); Prince Edward Island: 5% (+0.5) and Quebec: 32% (+0.2).
The offshore fleet gets 58% of the quota, the coastal fleet of less than 65 feet has 15%, and the mid-shore 5.72% in addition to the allocations announced by the minister, which offends the Association of Captains and Owners of the Gaspésie.
Claudio Bernatchez would have liked the government to take inspiration from the past to avoid mistakes.
“The former Liberal Minister of Fisheries, Roméo Leblanc, favoured coastal fishermen in 1977 in the allocation of redfish quotas by giving them the first 30,000 tonnes. It was a good decision,” recalls the director of the association.
The Bloc Québécois’
reaction
The Bloc Québécois believes that Ottawa still has the room to implement a plan acceptable to shrimp fishermen who are in a difficult position because of the reduction in shrimp quotas and small redfish allocations set aside for them. This will barely be enough to keep their heads above water.
“It’s not too late and I hope Ottawa heard Tuesday’s (February 20) message and we will help spread it.” We still cannot explain why the majority of the pie is going to the deep-sea boats that we had removed from the gulf for obvious reasons,” says the Member of Parliament for Avignon-La Mitis-Matane-Matapédia, Kristina Michaud.
For her, the quota reserved for shrimp fishermen will cause them to lose their livelihood.
“What Ms. Lebouthillier offered them isn’t even enough for them to go out to sea. It doesn’t justify the fixed costs. Even more, this does not justify the investments to go out for redfish fishing with the allocated quotas. What’s going to happen: bankruptcies, closures and boats to sell? Ms. Lebouthillier does not realize that she has signed the death warrant for fishermen with 10% of the quota,” says Ms. Michaud.
Several factors, according to her, remain unclear: the price paid for the fish, when fishing will be launched or whether processors will have help to adapt.
Ms. Michaud also mentions that with climate change and the impacts on fishing, we cannot trust the historic shares allocated by the minister in January.
“We need to have a different vision, in the longest term possible. We cannot rely on what has been done in the past,” emphasizes Ms. Michaud.
For her, one day we will have to look at the entire marine ecosystem to establish fishing plans rather than working in silos.
“Scientists tell us to take a broader view. Let’s talk about seals. There is overpopulation. Why don’t we open a hunt gradually? There is a whole market to develop. On the ground, there seems to be a willingness, but it does not reach the offices of civil servants or the offices of Ms. Lebouthillier,” she notes.
For her, Quebec is no match when the federal government talks about fishing.
There is an urgent need to act as the fishing season is fast approaching.
“Ms. Lebouthillier should know. It’s not easy for people who don’t know if they will be able to get out, pay the bills or offer employment to their crew. Let’s give them some predictability and reassure them. I cannot believe that there is no money left and that we cannot review the quotas with a global vision of the marine ecosystem. Time is running out, but it is not too late,” says the Bloc representative.
Ms. Lebouthillier
also comments
For her part, in a statement sent following the demonstration, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans reiterated the elements of her January announcement.
“To support them, shrimp fishermen were granted 10% of the total (redfish) allocation. This decision not only respects the leading role that Nova Scotia has historically played in this fishery but also increases the historical shares of each of the other provinces. From the point of view of distribution by fleet, this modernized distribution also ensures a greater balance of power for the smallest players, thus reducing the share of large boats over 100 feet, from 74% in 1994 to 59% in 2024. It also helps advance reconciliation, by creating a 10% bank dedicated to Indigenous communities,” mentions the written declaration by Diane Lebouthillier.
“In order to help fishermen reduce their expenses for the next season, I have also instructed officials from Fisheries and Oceans Canada to be flexible towards shrimp fishing license holders. This will allow them, among other things, to manage the way they fish their quota using ‘twinning’, i.e. the possibility for several license holders to fish together on board the same boat and, thus, share the costs,” she adds.
Ms. Lebouthillier says she is aware that there is still work to be done and wants to keep the channels of communication open with the industry.