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House Hansard - 77

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 30, 2022 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Mr. Ryan Turnbull
  • May/30/22 9:53:16 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the issue of losing fishing gear is not a new one around the world. With decades of old debris in our oceans and along our coastlines, our government recognizes ghost gear as an issue of national importance, which is why, in 2019, Fisheries and Oceans Canada established the ghost gear program. This program is helping to prevent, retrieve and responsibly dispose of this harmful and often unintentional consequence of commercial fishing. Budget 2022 announced $10 million for the fund. This support will enable the ghost gear fund to see new, exciting and successful projects completed by our partners. This includes new projects like the DFO's support of the trial of Blue Ocean Gear's GPS-enabled, smart buoy technology in the Maritimes and Pacific regions, assessing its applicability across different wild capture and aquaculture fisheries. Blue Ocean Gear's buoys track deployed gear, monitoring location, movement and environmental conditions. Fishers also receive alerts if their traps, nets or longlines have moved beyond a threshold area, allowing timely retrieval before they become lost or entangled. The ghost gear fund has led to amazing work with fish harvesters and associations and to technological developments, and is a clear example of the type of innovation we hope to see in this sector. Can the minister please highlight some of the incredible results, including how much gear has been removed through the first two years of implementing this important fund?
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