Fishing conference over, now turn commitments to action: Minister

Canada must move swiftly to pressure participants at the international overfishing conference in St. John�s to act on their commitments, says Trevor Taylor, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

"I didn�t have high expectations going into this conference," said Minister Taylor. "Work over the next six to eight months will show if it can produce meaningful results at the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization meetings in September. Whether or not the St. John�s discussions were successful can only be measured by the degree of change in NAFO.

"We�re pleased that the conference went ahead and hope that Canada can apply pressure to turn international commitments into meaningful action. Participating in the ministers� roundtable was a good opportunity, and I see the Ministers� Declaration as a commitment to action. Perhaps now more than ever, its clear reform is needed to ensure that there are sustainable fisheries on the Nose and Tail of the Grand Banks, and on the Flemish Cap."

Minister Taylor sees it as a positive sign, under Canada�s leadership, that ministers made commitments to resolve the problem of overfishing on the high seas. However, despite the best efforts of the Government of Canada, this could not be translated into a concrete action plan because some countries did not share the urgency to end the environmental threat of overfishing.

"Now is the time to move forward on the commitment made by Canada, the United States, the European Union, Denmark, Iceland, Japan, and Norway to deal with NAFO�s ineffectiveness. There needs to be an ecosystems management approach. The abuse of the objection procedure needs to stop. Monitoring, surveillance and enforcement all need to be improved. More words without action are absolutely unacceptable to Newfoundland and Labrador."

There was some progress in advancing the idea of custodial management. There are indications that countries such as Argentina, Australia, Chile, and South Africa support the concept, but unfortunately the European Union does not.

"My message was that custodial management involves multi-lateral cooperation," said Minister Taylor. "It involves well-defined rights and obligations. It�s not about extending Canada�s sovereignty beyond the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone, nor is it a grab for fish resources. It�s about protecting fish stocks from foreign overfishing. Canada, as custodial manager of fish stocks on the Nose and Tail of the Grand Banks, could be a test case for other coastal states enforcing better conservation."

The International Conference on the Governance of High Seas Fisheries and the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement concluded Thursday in St. John�s. The theme of the conference was "Moving from Words to Action." Approximately 300 delegates, including ministers and officials from 49 countries, participated.

Media contact: Alex Marland, Communications, (709) 729-3733, 690-6047

2005 05 06                                              3:50 p.m.