A9

Sen. William Rompkey and Sen. Ethel Cochrane
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The Atlantic lobster fishery is in severe difficulty. Markets have collapsed as a result of the global economic and financial downturn, including in the United States, where 80 per cent of Canada's lobster exports are destined. Prices paid to fishermen at the wharf have dropped to levels not seen in two decades. In coastal communities where non-fishing jobs are scarce at the best of times, let alone during a recession, the financial impact on fishermen and their families is significant.

In these tough times, immediate changes to the Employment Insurance program must be implemented to address the problems created by low lobster prices. A report released in June by the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans calls on the government to allow fish harvesters to qualify for EI based on 2008 earnings. The report also recommends EI fishing benefits be extended by five weeks. Currently, fish harvesters are eligible for benefits based on earnings rather than on hours worked.

Lobster is Canada's most valuable seafood export, normally representing as much as $1 billion in export sales annually. It is also a cornerstone of economic activity in many regions. According to fishery organization representatives who presented before the Senate Committee, plummeting prices are directly impacting 10,000 licensed owner-operators, 15,000 deckhands and another 25,000 other workers on shore, not to mention the local economies where these workers and their families reside.

Federal investment initiatives relating to marketing, promotion and eco-labelling are welcome and much needed, but are currently overshadowed by the pressing reality that fishermen are receiving significantly less for their catches.

As Earle McCurdy, president of the Fish Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) explained to the committee: "you have to survive the short term to participate in the long term." Therefore, the committee called on the minister of fisheries and oceans to immediately enter into formal discussions with Atlantic fish harvester organizations and the provincial governments to create an assistance plan. In this regard, fisheries ministers from the four Atlantic provinces and Quebec recently met in Ottawa.

Helping family or cottage-type businesses avoid bankruptcy is not simply a question of helping individuals weather the economic storm, according to Léonard Poirier, president of Alliance des pêcheurs professionnels du Québec (APPQ). It is also a question of preserving the current nature of the lobster fishery. He warned the committee that a lack of action to help fishermen today could result in the fishery of the future being "taken over by conglomerates or other such structures, which would be very harmful to the resource."

To preserve the long-term viability of the industry, fishery association representatives from a number of regions told the committee that a better balance between harvesting capacity and the available resource was required. In light of such comments, the report calls for the development of a comprehensive plan for the fishery, including voluntary fleet rationalization to reduce fishing capacity where needed. Under such a framework, the federal government should contribute to the costs of removing lobster licences from the fishery. On June 10, 2009, the minister of fisheries and oceans announced a $65 million investment in short-term assistance to lobster fishers and long-term sustainability plans.

In coastal areas across Atlantic Canada and in Quebec, the lobster fishery has for generations sustained communities and economies. As the lobster crisis shows no sign of abating any time soon, it is time for action.

Senator William Rompkey is the Chair and Senator Ethel Cochrane is Deputy Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. The committee's report, Crisis in the Lobster Fishery, is available online: www.senate-senat.ca/fopo.asp.