Good afternoon, Madam Chair and committee members.

My name is Adwaite Tiwary. I'm the director of trade and market policy at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

I'm joined here today by my colleagues Todd Williams, acting director general, fisheries resource management; and Sylvain Vézina, regional director general for the Quebec region.

I appreciate the opportunity to appear before this committee on behalf of the department to discuss Canada's international trade in sustainably harvested and responsibly sourced fish and seafood products.

My team's role within the department is to support the sector's economic growth by helping it access markets and identify opportunities to diversify. My team also contributes towards DFO's mandate to ensure that trade in fish and seafood is supported by ambitious bilateral and multilateral trade agreement provisions geared towards sustainability and conservation of marine resources. As part of this work, my team works closely with Global Affairs Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Canada's reputation for high‑quality and sustainably harvested fish and seafood is well established. We're well positioned to meet certain market access requirements.

The numbers speak for themselves. For example, last year, Canada exported $7.6 billion worth of fish and seafood to 115 countries. Of this figure, $4.9 billion went to the United States, our largest export market, and $421 million to the European Union, our third‑largest export market.

As we are here today to talk about trade with the United States and the European Union, it is important to note that Canada has trade agreements with both the U.S. and the EU. The Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement, or CUSMA, and the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, support consistent and stable market access for our fish and seafood products.

That said, market access requirements and policies can evolve over time. I acknowledge that some measures proposed by the United States and the European Union may have implications for Canada.

Concerning the United States, this market has distinct requirements, including those related to the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act, or MMPA. The MMPA provisions seek to protect marine mammals from being harmed during fishing and aquaculture operations.

Starting in 2026, to maintain access to the U.S., harvesting nations that export fish or fish products must have measures in place that are comparable to U.S. standards to reduce the bycatch of marine mammals during commercial fishing and aquaculture operations.

Turning now to the EU, a few market access requirements are noteworthy.

For instance, in 2009, the European Union introduced a new regulation to ensure that products derived from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing do not enter that jurisdiction. The EU IUU regulation requires all countries that export fish and seafood to provide a catch certificate for each shipment exported.

In response, Canada developed a catch certification program. The program supports Canada's role more broadly in preventing, deterring and eliminating IUU fishing.

I want to focus now on seal products. The European Union was once Canada's largest market for seal products, with sales reaching $5.4 million in 2006. In 2009, the European Union introduced regulations that banned the import and sale of all seal products. Since then, sales have been close to zero. Some exceptions were introduced in 2015 for indigenous certified products and goods purchased by travellers for personal use. Despite these exceptions, Canada's market for seal products never recovered.

On May 15, 2024, the European Commission launched an evaluation of the effectiveness of the seal ban. DFO is working closely with stakeholders and federal departments on this process. We want to ensure that the EU takes into consideration the sustainable and humane nature of Canada's seal hunt, that the voices of Canada's sealing sector are heard, and that the EU understands the impact of the ban on our coastal and indigenous communities.

Thank you for your attention. I look forward to answering your questions.