Question Period Note: Relations With France on Atlantic Halibut and Recent Fishing Activity of St. Pierre ET Miquelon

• Canada works cooperatively with other nations to ensure that internationally shared fish stocks are managed effectively, based on the best available science, and in compliance with international law.
• This Government understands well that Atlantic halibut is an important species and this fishery creates good jobs for hardworking Canadians in coastal communities.
• Canada continues to work with France toward a fair agreement that ensures the health and sustainability of the Atlantic halibut stock, and that reflects the significant investments made by Canada and its fishing industry in the development and management of the fishery.

BACKGROUND
• The Atlantic halibut stock extends from east of Newfoundland to northeastern US waters. A small portion of the stock is found in the maritime zone of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, with about 10 per cent outside the Canadian Exclusive Economic Zone.
• This fishery is of significant importance to Atlantic Canada, particularly coastal communities in southern Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, with landed value in excess of $70 million in 2022. The Government of Canada and Canadian industry have invested significantly in the development and sustainable management of this fishery.
• Canada has sought agreement with France since 2016 on a sharing arrangement for catches, but without success. Canada’s motivation is to ensure long-term sustainability and to maintain Canadian management of the fishery.
• In the absence of an agreement, France has authorized catches for its fishermen of 354t, which represents more than 7 per cent of the total catch recommended by scientific analysis. In comparison, only 1.13 per cent of the stock biomass is found in French waters.
• In the most recent negotiations, France has sought a disproportionate and inequitable share of the catch. Such a share would be untenable for Canada as it would have to be taken from our own harvesters, who have invested heavily in the development of the industry and the science on which the current successful management regime is based.
• A St. Pierre and Miquelon vessel Terra Neuvas began directed fishing of Atlantic halibut in May 2024 in the NAFO Regulatory Area (NRA). Atlantic halibut is not a NAFO managed species, but the fish in the NRA are part of the same overall stock complex as those in Canadian fisheries waters. Directed fishing in the NRA further undermines Canadian conservation objectives for this stock and potentially further complicates negotiations.
• This action is seen by the Canadian fishing industry as a serious escalation, and has resulted in increased pressure on the Government of Canada to take stronger measures to encourage France to negotiate a fair deal.
• Due to lack of progress in the negotiations and expansion of directed fishing in the NRA without a science-based quota, on June 28, 2024, Canada requested formal consultations under the Canada-France Procès-verbal, a treaty-based process that has allowed Canada and France/St. Pierre and Miquelon to cooperate on the management of fish stocks that are present in our two domestic fishing waters.
• The resulting consultations on July 5 yielded no progress. Canada and France exchanged a series of Diplomatic Notes in July and August to reiterate positions, and Canada indicated that it would likely suspend reciprocal fishing privileges for French vessels in Canadian waters if France again targeted Atlantic halibut in the NRA.
• By early August, after four fishing trips that yielded 66 tonnes of Atlantic halibut caught in the NRA, the Terre Neuvas has ceased fishing for the moment. Canadian and French officials are working to identify dates for new negotiations, tentatively expected in late August.
 

• Canada works cooperatively with other nations to ensure that internationally shared fish stocks are managed effectively, based on the best available science, and in compliance with international law.
• This Government understands well that Atlantic halibut is an important species and this fishery creates good jobs for hardworking Canadians in coastal communities.
• Canada continues to work with France toward a fair agreement that ensures the health and sustainability of the Atlantic halibut stock, and that reflects the significant investments made by Canada and its fishing industry in the development and management of the fishery.