Millions in Funding Announced at CCFAM Meeting
Government funding appeared to be flowing freely at the Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers (CCFAM) meeting in St. John’s in early December.
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Jonathan Wilkinson and Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources for Newfoundland and Labrador, the Honourable Gerry Byrne, co-chaired the meeting attended by their counterparts and representatives from all provinces and territories.
The ministers said they renewed their ...
Panel Recommending Bottom Trawling be Prohibited in MPAs
Bottom trawling should be on the list of prohibited industrial activities in marine protected areas (MPAs), says the National Advisory Panel on Marine Protected Area Standards in its final report and recommendations to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.
The seven-member panel, established last spring, makes 13 recommendations to the minister that focus on minimum protection standards in federal marine protected areas, including Oceans Act marine protected areas ...
Wilkinson’s Marching Orders
It has now been nearly three months since Jonathan Wilkinson was appointed the new Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
By now, Minister Wilkinson’s handlers have been working overtime getting him up to speed on the numerous contentious and ever-changing files in this closely watched and oftentimes controversial department. Just ask his predecessor.
It would be an understatement to say that numerous decisions by New Brunswick native ...
DFO Reverses Surf Clam Award After Refusing to Re-open Flawed Process
The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has withdrawn an allocation of 25 per cent of the Arctic surf clam quota from the small New Brunswick First Nation that won the award.
It has also pledged to work with existing sole license holder, Clearwater Seafoods, to ensure that the unallocated quota can be used to support income and livelihoods of plant and vessel workers this year. This is welcome news to Newfoundland and Labrador.
In an unheralded announcement, DFO said “the ...
Cautious Optimism Greets New Federal Fisheries Minister
Photo by David Greening
More than a few eyebrows were raised when Jonathan Wilkinson was appointed the new Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard on July 18.
The new minister just happens to be the Member of Parliament for North Vancouver. As a result of a recent cabinet shuffle, Prime Minister Justin appointed a fisheries minister from the west coast of the country. Wilkinson replaced the often-times controversial Dominic LeBlanc
It would be an understatem...
