Minister of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Environment Kevin J. MacAdam had the opportunity to advance Prince Edward Island's position on a number of key issues at the recent national meeting of ministers responsible for fisheries and aquaculture.
The Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers met in Iqaluit, Nunavut last week. The meeting was co-chaired by Peter Kilabuk, Minister of Sustainable Development for Nunavut, and Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Herb Dhaliwal.
Minister MacAdam said several important topics were covered at the annual meeting including aquaculture, emerging species, introductions and transfers, and freshwater and recreational fisheries.
Minister MacAdam said he again used the opportunity to stress to the Federal Minister the importance of protection for the Prince Edward Island fishery.
Although some additional funding was recently announced by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for fisheries protection, Minister MacAdam said it does not appear that these resources will result in additional officers for Prince Edward Island.
"I stressed that additional officers are needed here to do the job that needs to be done," the minister said.
"I also asked the Federal Minister not to allow other PEI patrol vessels to suffer the same fate as the Howe Pt. which was earlier removed from service on Prince Edward Island.
"Replacement zodiacs are not effective in our weather conditions, nor are they suitable for hauling lobster traps," he said.
Another topic of discussion at the national meeting was the new five-year, $75 million federal funding package being made available for aquaculture. Minister MacAdam stressed that Prince Edward Island must receive a fair share of these dollars.
"Smaller operators need support to continue to expand their operations, and we don't want the majority of the funding diverted to large operations in other provinces," he said.
Also on the topic of aquaculture, the PEI minister impressed upon Minister Dhaliwal the importance of leases being approved in a timely fashion to enable the aquaculture industry to continue to grow and prosper.
In other discussions, Minister MacAdam said he reviewed the progress that has been made in establishing the Lobster Science Centre at the Atlantic Veterinary College with government and private sector support. He added the meeting also provided the opportunity to invite participation from other jurisdictions.
The PEI minister said progress was made at the meeting on a number of issues as reports were received from six intergovernmental task groups that are working on strategic policies and initiatives in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors.
Based on the recommendations of the task groups, ministers agreed to a draft Canada-wide Policy on Emerging Fisheries which will facilitate the sustainable commercial use of new or underutilized fish resources and agreed to develop projects to promote recreational fisheries in the coming year.
There was also support for a framework for development of a Freshwater Fisheries Strategy and agreement in principle on a process to finalize a Canada-wide Code on the Introductions and Transfers of Aquatic Organisms. This process will include further industry consultations.
As well, the aquaculture task group provided ministers with recommendations on service standards, siting approvals, code of conduct, fish health, and research and development.
A final order of business, ministers at the national meeting approved a work plan for the council for 2000-2001.