Fisheries committee  Exactly.

Fisheries committee  Yes, it is from my perspective. This was really a bomb. As a country, we had to react quickly. It was uncharted territory. I'm not criticizing the government. The government and the department have been doing a tremendous amount of work, as far as I'm concerned. We're still feeling our way through this.

Fisheries committee  Yes, absolutely. It was a very important point that I was trying to make in my remarks. First of all, I want to be clear that the situation in Newfoundland is totally different. There are no whales there, so I totally agree with the preoccupations about putting in regulations that impact areas where there are no whales.

Fisheries committee  It would be devastating; 90% of our production goes to the U.S.

Fisheries committee  Yes. Many rural communities would just disappear. It's that serious. The snow crab fishery has saved the fishery in Newfoundland, by the way, after the disaster with cod, and now it also is so important everywhere, including the Magdalen Islands and including all of the Gulf of St.

Fisheries committee  Yes, there's a fishing plan for every fishery. It's a yearly fishing plan. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans, at the beginning of the season, will say, “Here are the regulations, the same as last year,” or “We are changing this or changing that.” That happens on a regular basis.

Fisheries committee  Yes, I had the honour and privilege of working for first nations. I'm a consultant. I organized a fishermen's organization called the Maritime Fishermen's Union. I left that 35 years ago and have been doing consulting ever since. Recently, I have been focusing my efforts on the integration of first nations into the commercial fishery.

Fisheries committee  Mr. Cormier, like a good politician, you may be trying to make me say what you want to hear.

Fisheries committee  I fully agree with you in this case, because the effectiveness of these measures hasn't been proven and there's a safety issue for fishers. I don't think low-breaking-strength rope is the solution. I strongly believe that there should be no rope in the water. I'm a firm believer in on‑demand buoy technology.

Fisheries committee  That's a very important question, but it's also very tricky. We always try to design management plans that will enable us to fish efficiently and capture the quotas for this type of fishery while also protecting the whales. The current management plan doesn't prevent entanglements.

Fisheries committee  Mr. Chair and committee members, thank you for inviting me to discuss the current situation regarding the status of the North Atlantic right whale as a species at risk. My name is Gilles Thériault, and I am the president of the New Brunswick Crab Processors Association. Incidentally, I first got involved in fisheries development in Canada 50 years ago this year.

Fisheries committee  Thank you very much. Not to boast, but I have to tell you that I've seen it all over the years. The appearance of North Atlantic right whales in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2017 led to a major uproar, both here and elsewhere, after several unfortunate incidents that resulted in mortalities.