Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time with the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.
Small craft harbours is a key Fisheries and Oceans Canada program and one that is important for Canada's economy because it provides critical support to the commercial fishing industry, which has annual landings valued at more than $3.5 billion. Our government has provided the program with important resources to help meet its mandate. Our government has announced $784 million in new funding for the small craft harbours program since 2016. This funding supports Canadians in the fishing, aquaculture, tourism, environmental, recreational, marine engineering and construction industries and strengthens the resilience of coastal and rural communities. In essence, it is the economic hub in rural and Atlantic Canada, where I am from.
From coast to coast to coast, Fisheries and Oceans Canada owns, operates and maintains a national system of harbours to provide commercial fish harvesters and other small craft harbour users with safe and accessible facilities. Ninety per cent of Canadian fishing vessels are using small craft harbours, and fish harvesters depend on these facilities not only to support their livelihoods, but also to create economic wealth in the communities they reside in. At the present time, the program is responsible for 973 harbours, 675 of which are core harbours that are considered essential to Canada's fishing industry. The remaining 298 are used less by the industry or recreational harbours.
In many communities, these forming fishing harbours now have a new calling that allows them to remain key local drivers in terms of the economy. In fact, in budget 2021, our government announced it would provide $300 million over two years to repair, renew and replace small craft harbours. While small craft harbours remain key to the continued success of the Canadian fishing industry, DFO staff are focusing on certain areas that will require attention over the coming years. The small craft harbours program is also very successful in surpassing its objectives through its involvement in the oceans protection plan and its national strategy to address the risks posed by abandoned and wrecked vessels. This strategy is being delivered by Transport Canada and our department through the small craft harbours and the Canadian Coast Guard.
Under the small craft harbours portion of the strategy, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has funded $1.3 million over the next five years to remove abandoned and wrecked vessels in small craft harbours. The small craft harbours abandoned and wrecked vessels removal program was implemented in 2017 and 2018 and has since surpassed its ocean protection plan target of 50 vessels removed and disposed of by 2022, with a total of 154 vessels removed from federally owned harbours. The program will continue beyond 2021-22 as part of the renewal and expansion of the oceans protection plan, which was announced in budget 2022. These positive results are contributing to strengthening the resilience of rural and coastal communities in Canada. The goal of all of this will be to further strengthen the resilience of our rural and coastal communities, which we hold dear.
Before closing my remarks, I would like to point out that one of the keys to the program's success is the collaboration, indeed a strong collaboration, with the 5,000 volunteers that represent the over 560 harbour authorities that we work with across this very country. As we can see, the small craft harbours program continues to play a key role in the maintenance and upkeep of Canada's harbours. I can assure the House that our government will remain committed to supporting programs like this so that it continues to be successful in meeting its mandate.
My one question, so we can move on to the questions by the member opposite, is that in budget 2021, the government announced it would provide $300 million over the next two years, as mentioned, to repair, renew and replace small craft harbours. Could the minister explain the progress of the program and the important, in fact critical, role it plays in our fish and seafood sector?