Province responds to federal government closure of cod fisheries

Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Yvonne Jones, today responded to the cod fishery closure in 2J3KL and 3Pn4RS cod fisheries announced by Robert Thibault, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, today in St. John�s.

"The closure of the northern and gulf cod fisheries indefinitely is devastating news to Newfoundland and Labrador. It will have an enormous economic impact on the people of this province," said Minister Jones. "This impact is far greater than the elimination of 10,000 tonnes of cod quota. The life blood of many communities throughout the province has been taken away.

"These communities have no other means of employment. Therefore, we will see more of our people leaving the province to find work. I am shocked and dismayed by this announcement, which shows flagrant disregard for the recommendations of the Newfoundland and Labrador All Party Committee and the scientific advice put forward by the Fisheries Resource Conservation Council (FRCC). This announcement was made with no prior consultation with the province or the people affected, despite our clear and stated willingness on work with the Government of Canada to address this difficult challenge. It is a woefully inadequate response and an offence to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians."

The Newfoundland and Labrador All Party Committee on 2J3KL and 3Pn4RS cod fisheries report states that simply closing fisheries without addressing the most serious - and controllable - reasons for the decline in cod stocks is not the right decision. The holistic plan identifies several actions that will contribute to rebuilding the stocks.

Jones stated: "I am particularly offended by the process by which this announcement was made. From the first hints of this action, months ago, this province has been on record for its willingness to work with the Government of Canada to find meaningful, durable and long-term solutions. All parties of Newfoundland and Labrador�s House of Assembly, as well as all our MPs and Senators, came together in an unprecedented manner to construct meaningful advice in pursuit of this solution. Our advice has been largely ignored. While Minister Byrne says he is committed to consultation on this matter, consultation is meaningless when decisions have already been made. Minister Byrne�s commitment is hollow, meaningless and disingenuous.

"This announcement is an attempt to place a band-aid on a gaping wound. The obvious intention of federal Ministers in their comments this morning was to minimize the impact of this decision. The impacts of these fisheries closures have been carefully assessed by the province and the All Party Committee, and it is clear that today�s decision will impact 775 plant workers, 400 of whom will probably lose their jobs and the remainder of whom will be unable to qualify for EI, and 2,500 fish harvesters, more than 800 of whom depend on cod for more than 50 per cent of their incomes.

" Minister Thibault stated that he had no alternative but to close these fisheries. I cannot accept this to be the case," said Minister Jones. "Both the All Party Committee and the FRCC, the minister�s own advisory council, provided the minister with a path to rebuilding these stocks while maintaining limited commercial fisheries. The federal minister has also decided to �cherry pick� from the advice put forward by the All Party Committee, of which the Premier and I were members.

"There is no long-term commitment to rebuilding these stocks in this announcement. Two years� work of new scientific funding hardly constitutes a comprehensive strategy. There is no commitment to action to deal with the continuing problem of foreign overfishing. There is no commitment to rebuilding the cod stock through new initiatives like cod grow-out or to improve fisheries enforcement or improve the environmental sustainability of harvesting practices."

On conclusion the minister stated: "This announcement constitutes irresponsible and inadequate action by the Government of Canada. It is an attempt to sweep under the table an issue which affects the livelihood of thousands of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. I am confident the people of this province will not stand for it. In the days ahead, I will be consulting with representatives of the union and the industry on next steps. We will be carefully analyzing the federal announcement and providing constructive criticism. As much as this announcement causes me to question whether it is possible to work with the Government of Canada on anything, we will be prepared to discuss the inadequacies of this program with Ministers Thibault and Byrne, and we will be prepared to discuss how the program can be expanded and improved."

Preliminary Comparison between All-Party Committee Report and Government of Canada Response to Atlantic Cod Fishery

Media contact: Cynthia Layden-Barron, (709) 729-3733, cell (709) 682-6765.

2003 04 24                                         11:15 a.m.