The following statement was issued today by Trevor Taylor, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

House of Commons motion on custodial management

I rise today to congratulate Loyola Hearn, the Member of Parliament for St. John's West, on the successful passing of his private members' motion on custodial management in the House of Commons last night. Motion No. 136 calls on the Government of Canada to immediately extend custodial management over the Nose and Tail of the Grand Banks and the Flemish Cap.

Mr. Hearn is to be commended for his efforts. He has worked tirelessly on the issue of foreign overfishing, including his dedicated work with the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. The Committee's members also deserve acknowledgment, including Tom Wappel, the MP for Scarborough Southwest, who chaired the March 2003 report that recommended custodial management. It is encouraging to see such broad support in the House of Commons for action on foreign overfishing.

Newfoundland and Labrador maintains that the situation in the Northwest Atlantic is unacceptable. Reported fishery infractions outside of the 200-mile limit have increased in recent years. Under current Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization - or NAFO - rules, contracting parties are the ones who enforce regulations and prosecute violations. This has repeatedly proven to be ineffective, because certain countries blatantly disregard conservation measures and regulations. These countries refuse to take action against vessels that fish in contravention of the rules.

Our province believes that Canada must investigate alternatives to the current NAFO management regime. We maintain that custodial management is a viable option to conserve our precious fishery resources. Furthermore, the federal government has other tools available to improve the management and conservation of straddling fish stocks. One of these tools is the United Nations Fish Agreement, or UNFA, which the federal government must be prepared to use.

Should a multilateral approach fail to meet provincial expectations, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador will continue to press Canada to pursue alternatives such as custodial management. Therefore, it is welcome news that Motion No. 136 passed in the House of Commons, and Mr. Hearn and his colleagues are to be congratulated. The Premier has raised custodial management with the Prime Minister, we have both brought this issue forward in meetings with the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, and we will continue to pursue this matter on behalf of Newfoundland and Labrador.

2004 03 25                                        2:00 p.m.