Conservatives Call for Immediate Action to Address Critical Decrease in Atlantic Salmon Stocks

Conservatives Call for Immediate Action to Address Critical Decrease in Atlantic Salmon Stocks

August 21, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ottawa, ON – Todd Doherty, Member of Parliament for Cariboo – Prince George, Mel Arnold, Member of Parliament for North Okanagan – Shuswap, and Robert Sopuck, Member of Parliament for Dauphin – Swan River – Neepawa, today issued the following statement urging the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to take immediate action to address the critical decrease in wild Atlantic Salmon stocks:

“Conservatives understand that the salmon fishery in Atlantic Canada is a key economic driver, which creates thousands of jobs in rural and remote communities. That’s why our previous Conservative government established a Ministerial Advisory Committee in 2015 to determine the best course of action to address declining salmon returns. The final report contained 61 recommendations aimed at improving wild Atlantic salmon stocks.

“In addition, the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans undertook a lengthy study last spring and issued a set of recommendations urging the Liberal government to develop and execute a recovery plan to rebuild wild Atlantic salmon stocks.

“The committee’s recommendations included addressing the detrimental overfishing of Atlantic salmon by Greenland, allowing a significant increase in the harvest of striped bass, and supporting a grey seal harvest program with an aim to significantly reduce seal populations and enhance the recovery of wild Atlantic salmon populations.

“Minister Leblanc committed to being personally engaged on this issue, but to date, has failed to take action. Despite almost 80 recommendations outlining the need for an urgent federal response, the Minister refuses to give this issue the attention it deserves. We call on the Minister to immediately engage with his counterparts in Greenland to curtail their detrimental overharvesting of Atlantic salmon and to implement a recovery plan that will rebuild wild Atlantic salmon stocks and ensure the sustainability of future harvests.”

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