Federal Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc speaks on the south-side wharf in Bay de Verde Monday afternoon. It was his first visit to Newfoundland and Labrador since becoming the federal minister.
Speaking with reporters in Bay de Verde Monday following an announcement about funding for small craft harbours, Dominic LeBlanc said he worked with the information he had and consulted with federal and provincial politicians before electing to scrap LIFO. The decision fell in line with the recommendation of an advisory panel that consulted with the public and presented a report to the minister.
“It would have been untenable to continue with a practice that would have seen hundreds and hundreds of fishing enterprises and fish processing businesses dependent on that resource somehow made much more vulnerable than those that are lucky enough to hold one of those 17 offshore licences,” LeBlanc said. “I concluded that the fairest way was a proportional sharing (arrangement).”
As for the decision to introduce a 42 per cent quota cut for this year, LeBlanc said he understood the frustration of harvesters, but also accepted scientific advice indicating the biomass in Shrimp Fishing Area 6 was in trouble.
“We’ll continue to do scientific work,” said the fisheries minister. “My hope is that the stock is in a strong position. We’ll have something to say in the coming days about the other shrimp fishing zones.”
Later when asked by The Compass about the potential return of a groundfish harvest, LeBlanc acknowledged he has received some advice suggesting areas where northern shrimp stocks are under pressure can be linked to a rebounding cod stock.
“Is it returning in a level that will allow for a very robust commercial fishery? Not yet,” said LeBlanc. “But we seem to be on a trend line that is taking us, I hope, in that direction.”
Provincial Fisheries Minister Steve Crocker first brought up hopes for a commercial groundfish harvest during Monday’s media scrum in Bay de Verde. Moments later, Quinlan Brothers vice-president Robin Quinlan confirmed when asked about the topic that his company made provisions for future expansion should the need arise, noting “groundfish is certainly just around the corner.”
LeBlanc said an announcement concerning the sentinel, or scientific, northern cod fishery can be expected “in the coming days.”
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“One of the main principles will be that as we work towards a return of … a commercial fishery, we need to have world class partners in the processing sector who are able to in terms of quality, in terms of global markets, offer fishers, processors and businesses as important as Quinlan Brothers an opportunity to be viable and to be prosperous,” he said. “I’m going to be looking at ways we can evaluate cod stocks.”
LeBlanc and Judy Foote, Newfoundland and Labrador’s representative in the federal cabinet, are scheduled to meet with FFAW-Unifor officials on Tuesday. They will also discuss northern cod with Crocker while in St. John’s.
