Madam Chair, thank you very much for this opportunity to share our views.

I appear before you today on behalf of the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen's Association, where I serve as president. For 28 years we have represented owner-operator fishing families on the shores of the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. Our group has a distinguished history of advocating for sustainable fishing practices and community-based fisheries management.

Over this time, our commitment to responsible use of resources has led us to partnerships with many groups in academia and the conservation community. We have a history of co-operation with governments and regulators at all levels, which has earned us a reputation as a valuable ally on ocean issues. Our members are proud of this legacy and are committed to preserving our way of life for future generations of Nova Scotians.

Today more than ever, international regulatory developments are having a direct effect on harvesters. In the past, these issues were more the concern of the export side of the industry, but today fishermen face direct calls for action on our part.

The most prominent of these today is the United States Marine Mammal Protection Act and the need for Canadian fishermen to comply with similar standards to retain market access in the U.S. for Canadian seafood products.

To facilitate this, a massive effort is taking place and continues to evolve, as conservation groups and fishing organizations work co-operatively with regulators to assure our American friends that we can and will do our part to conserve and protect marine mammals on our fishing grounds. We believe this co-operative approach is the correct one, and it has been guided by organizations like the Canadian Whale Institute and the Canadian Wildlife Federation.

These groups in particular understand the needs and priorities of the fishing industry and make great efforts to seek our [Technical difficulty—Editor] work collaboratively with harvesters.

The Government of Canada can assist in these important developments by continuing to create room for industry perspectives when considering the funding of NGO projects in this sphere.

It's a fact that our industry can co-operate with these organizations and achieve better outcomes for all stakeholders when our views are respected and included in decision-making. It's incumbent on government to support their important work, not groups that only seek to obstruct an industry so important to our economy.

It's imperative that the government strive to communicate our successes to American regulators and consumers. Many inaccuracies reported in the U.S. go unchallenged by DFO.

Most recently, American regulators have mandated an increase to the minimum-size lobster that can be harvested in U.S. waters in an effort to boost the numbers of juvenile lobster in the Gulf of Maine. This has presented Canadian harvesters with a dilemma. Do we follow suit and increase our minimum size?

This would result in lower initial landings, due to a size class of lobster that was previously harvestable being thrown back. On the other hand, not taking any action could result in the loss of U.S. market access, which is something our industry cannot afford, as America represents a significant share of the marketplace.

There are still areas where more work must be done. One is connecting inshore independent harvesters directly to international marketplaces. This valuable idea has seen little effort by government.

Perhaps most important to note is the failure of this government to appoint a fisheries conservation ambassador of Canada to represent our industry on behalf of all Canadians. This negligence sometimes leaves the industry voiceless at international tables or sees our voice replaced by transnational ENGOs with their own self-serving agendas and foreign funding.

The truth is that we have a story that deserves to be told abroad. It's a positive one of respect for the waters we rely on, of a commitment to science-based fisheries management and of the will to work co-operatively with our domestic and international partners in an effort to build value and sustainability in Atlantic Canada's most important industry.

Thank you, committee members. I invite your questions.