Provincial Election Questionnaire

The Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance (UFCA) represents thousands of multi-species commercial fishermen and women, fishery associations and associated businesses from across Atlantic Canada. The UFCA was formed following the events of last fall, in order to bring together many participants in the Atlantic fishery to speak with one balanced, coordinated and moderate voice. 

In the interest of keeping our members, as well as the public, fully informed on key issues during the election, we are inviting the leaders of each provincial party to respond to the questions below. The UFCA will evaluate all the responses in the lead up to the final week of the campaign and share the responses with our members by publishing them on our website and across social media channels.

The UFCA believes that Indigenous and non-Indigenous fishermen can work side by side like they do today in the commercial fishery. We recognize and acknowledge the importance of cooperation with Indigenous communities, and that Indigenous fishermen have a right to a fish for commercial, food, social, and ceremonial purposes.  Our members reject all forms of racism, intolerance, and violence, and believe there is a path to move beyond the controversies and heated rhetoric of recent months, to a positive outcome for all.

Sustainability remains at the centre of the moderate livelihood fishing debate. Over the years, commercial fishers have worked closely with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to reduce fishing efforts in the limited-entry inshore fishery by implementing conservation measures such as limits on the number of traps, limited staggered fishing seasons, protection of egg-bearing females, and minimum and maximum lobster size limits. This approach has resulted in healthy lobster stocks throughout Atlantic Canada. We fear the potential for excessive localized fishing pressure introduced by the launch of unregulated moderate livelihood fisheries will have a harmful affect on the conservation of stocks.

The UFCA supports Indigenous fishers’ right to sell their catch, as they do with the substantial licenses and quotas they hold today, but we are opposed to anyone, Indigenous or non-Indigenous, selling fish caught outside federal or provincial regulations related to size, season, and quota. We believe it is essential that every community, association, and fisher in the Atlantic fishery abide by the science-based rules and regulations that have been established to ensure the conservation and proper management of our fisheries for future generations.

As the province is responsible for the buying, processing, or selling of fish, we want to work constructively with the next provincial government to ensure First Nations can fish and sell their catch for a moderate livelihood while conserving the resource for future generations. Our members expect the next provincial government to take a leadership role with respect to their responsibility for the buying, processing, or selling of fish and have established the following questions for the upcoming provincial election:

1.      Do you believe the excessive localized fishing pressure introduced by the launch of unregulated moderate livelihood fisheries has the potential to have a harmful effect on the conservation of stocks?

2.      Do you believe it is essential that every community, association, and fisher in the Atlantic fishery, whether they be Indigenous or non-Indigenous, abide by the science-based rules and regulations that have been established by DFO to ensure the conservation and proper management of our fisheries for future generations?

3.      Do you believe that fish caught in unregulated moderate livelihood fisheries operating outside the science-based rules and regulations that have been established by DFO should be exempt from the provincial rules related to the buying, processing, or selling of fish?

4.      If elected, do you commit to increasing provincial resources for the enforcement of the rules related to the buying, processing, or selling of fish caught in unregulated moderate livelihood fisheries operating outside of the science-based rules and regulations that have been established by DFO?

I urge you to respond as soon as possible as the UFCA is keen to learn more about the views of each party and share them with our members. Your responses will be indicative of the importance you place on these issues in Nova Scotia.

We appreciate your consideration and look forward to communicating your thoughtful responses. Please direct your response to ufcacontact@gmail.com  Feel free to reach out if you would like to discuss our recommendations in greater detail.

Warm regards,

Colin E. Sproul

President, UFCA