The provincial Fisheries Advisory Council is backing the inclusion of the principle of adjacency in the federal Fisheries Act.
Inclusion in the Act would support efforts to solidify the long-term viability of Newfoundland and Labrador’s fishing industry, the council has concluded, per a news release from the Department of Fisheries and Land Resources.
The council reached its conclusion in response to a request from Fisheries and Land Resources Gerry Byrne last fall for an examination of the adjacency principle and the federal Fisheries Act, and the provincial government’s proposal that adjacency be included in the legislation.
“We have long advocated for the principle of adjacency and its entrenchment in federal fisheries legislation. Newfoundlanders and Labradorian should always be the primary beneficiaries of natural resources off their coast,” Byrne said in the release.
The Act to amend the Fisheries Act was introduced earlier this month by the federal government to provide a framework for the proper management and control of fisheries and the conservation and protection of all fish and fish habitat.
After reviewing the proposed amendments, the council acknowledged the importance of adjacency to the province in a letter to Byrne on Feb. 23.
