NLIS 8
September 1, 2005
(Fisheries and Aquaculture)
 

Minister supports conclusions of advisory panel

Fisheries Minister Trevor Taylor said today that the province supports the conclusions of a report commissioned by the federal government that calls for the immediate move by Canada to replace the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO).

The Report of the Advisory Panel on the Sustainable Management of Straddling Fish Stocks in the North West Atlantic was released Thursday. The report concludes that NAFO has failed and recommends the federal government act to replace NAFO with a new Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO).

�We have been very vocal in expressing our disappointment with NAFO. We�ve been trying to fix NAFO for 25 years and it�s not working. This report presents an excellent path to achieve our objectives,� Minister Taylor said. �Without a clear, decisive and timely plan to change NAFO at the next meeting in Estonia later this month, we will expect the Government of Canada to follow this strategy to finally achieve proper management of our stradding stocks.�

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) announced the formation of the advisory panel, chaired by Dr. Art May, in December 2004 to find ways to overcome the problems of international governance and overfishing, which has devastated the province�s coastal and rural communities. The panel concluded that a custodial management approach to straddling stocks is not possible without advances in international law, but that a new Regional Fisheries Management Organization would be more easily attainable and could achieve the same goals and objectives. They urge Canada to engage the European Union to develop a bilateral agreement to rebuild groundfish stocks and to better manage straddling stocks.

�The report is very comprehensive and well-researched and it takes seriously the issue of custodial management, which is a concept we have been advancing. I had the opportunity to meet with the panel and present the province�s position and I�m pleased to see that our position is reflected,� Minister Taylor said. �We want to see this move forward. As far as I am concerned, the meeting in Estonia is the last chance for NAFO to move from words to action.�

The report recommends that a new RFMO incorporate the modern approaches to, and principles of, sustainable ecosystem management contained in the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement and other international agreements. The province shares the view reflected in the report that a new RFMO should explicitly recognize the special interest of the coastal state, while protecting the shares of rebuilt stocks for current members. It would also replace the objection procedure, which allows members states who object to a decision to fish what they decide, with a compulsory dispute resolution and enhanced enforcement program.

�There has been some evidence of a changing mindset by certain member countries of NAFO in the last 12 months, however, the progress to date has been miniscule in comparison to what is left to be done and the time has come to act,� Minister Taylor said. �We believe the federal government must incorporate the panel�s strategy into the Canadian Strategic Plan for NAFO and we are prepared to work with them to achieve a permanent resolution to the long-standing and serious problem of foreign-overfishing off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.�

Media contact: Tracy Barron, Communications, (709) 729-3733, 690-6157

2005 09 01                           2:50 p.m.


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