Food fishery rules lead to widespread risk taking, warns committee
The Food Fishers Committee with the Food Fishery Fighters is calling on the federal Minister of Fisheries to ensure that any decisions on the food fishery must comply with the Government of Canada’s own safety regulations and obligations to its citizens.
“It is incumbent on the Minister to change unsafe practices in the food fishery and err on the side of safety and commonsense, rather than widespread risk taking,” Committee member Merv Wiseman said in an interview on VOCM’s Open Line.
Wiseman warns that the current structure of the food fishery creates dangerous conditions by forcing people to go out during limited timeframes of only three days a week, often, regardless of weather. “We’ve seen this before,” he says, “Parallel mistakes were made in the commercial fishery and they led to fatalities and a loss of lives due to stringent federal regulations.”
“We are not drumming up fictious scenarios,” Wiseman added. “People have lost family members and friends; and DFO was forced to modify management measures in that fishery. They have an obligation to ensure the same mistakes are not repeated in the food fishery.”
Wiseman says the long-anticipated “What We Heard” document will be released shortly from the federal Food Fishery Survey. He cautioned, however, that the decisions cannot be based on limited considerations. “At its core, the food fishery is not only a matter of culture, tradition and food security, as it is fundamentally a matter of public safety.”
According to Wiseman, current regulations must be aligned with federal marine safety standards. “The government must expand the fish access window to allow for weather-based decisions,” he said. “This is how you reduce the risk and prevent tragedies on the water.”
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