Custodial management dead: Byrne

Hopes for custodial management of the nose and tail of the Grand Banks are dead, says federal Liberal fisheries critic Gerry Byrne.

"Any and all aspirations for Canadian management are now over with ratification of this convention," said Mr. Byrne of the ratification by the Conservative government of proposed changes to the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) - which currently manages fish stocks outside Canada's 200 mile limit. "We can't pull out of NAFO - NAFO is recognized by the United Nation's Law of the Sea. Had we not ratified and instead asserted our rights on the Law of Sea as a coastal state, I think we could have achieved coastal management."

Coastal management of the Grand Banks where they extend beyond Canada's 200 mile limit (the 'nose' and 'tail') has long been touted in this province as a means to end foreign overfishing but hasn't been achieved by either Liberal or Conservative governments.

A renegotiated NAFO convention was recently approved by the Conservative government despite having been voted down in the House of Commons. The convention was renegotiated by Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) representatives in an attempt to improve the decision making and enforcement abilities of NAFO when it comes to setting quotas. While DFO and the Fisheries Council of Canada supported the changes, Mr. Byrne, the Newfoundland and Labrador provincial government and a group of retired DFO negotiators warned that the changes could compromise Canadian sovereignty within 200 miles and will not result in better enforcement.

Mr. Byrne, who has led the campaign against the changes, has three main issues with revised convention:

Objection procedure - Under NAFO rules if a country doesn't agree with their quota allocation for a fish stock they can lodge an objection and then catch as much as they see fit.

Voting procedure - A 2/3 majority vote is now required by member states when deciding quotas. While Mr. Byrne claims this will make it harder to win votes when quotas need to be cut, DFO negotiators have previously told the Pen that when Canada managed to win votes under the previous 50 per cent plus one system those decisions would be ignored.

NAFO management inside 200 miles - There is a provision that would allow NAFO to manage inside Canada's 200 mile limit if they were requested to by the Canadian government. DFO has stated it will not make such a request. Mr. Byrne on the other hand has asked why that provision was included if it won't be used?