As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below.

Recommendation 1

That the Government of Canada implement a Canadian seafood traceability and labelling system that supports the ability of Canadians to make informed decisions when purchasing seafood, including considerations that could affect their health and the optimization and sustainability of the resource.

Recommendation 2

That the Government of Canada implement a Canadian traceability and labelling system that will be interoperable with the European Union’s system and standards to ensure full-chain traceability for fish and seafood products. This system should be mandatory, rules-based and applicable to all species, whether for import or export.

Recommendation 3

That the Government of Canada introduce regulations requiring full-chain traceability and improved labelling standards for fish and seafood products. The required labelling information should be readily accessible electronically by regulatory bodies and include:

•       The species’ scientific name, regardless of whether it is wild-caught or farmed;
•       The catch or farm country of origin and, if applicable, processing location; and
•       The product’s harvesting or farming method.

Further, the Government of Canada should introduce support to enable the Canadian industry to innovate and adopt new technology in response to enhanced traceability and labelling requirements.

Recommendation 4

That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans work with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to review the Agency’s “Fish List”. This review should aim to provide a consistent basis for determining common names for fish and seafood. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency should also improve its DNA testing to validate the labelling of imported and domestic products, and invest in a range of inspection, audit and enforcement mechanisms to deter fraud.

Recommendation 5

That, once the Canadian traceability and labelling system for fish and seafood products has been implemented, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans work in collaboration with other government departments and jurisdictions to develop a public service campaign to increase consumer awareness about the full boat-to-plate traceability of high-quality Canadian-caught products made possible by the new system.

Recommendation 6

That the Government of Canada define and commit to a timeline and target date for implementing a Canadian seafood traceability and labelling system.

Recommendation 7

That the Government of Canada establish an interdepartmental task force led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and involving key agencies, supply chain participants and other stakeholders to develop a coordinated response to fish and seafood product mislabelling and to implement full boat-to-plate traceability for all fish and seafood products harvested, farmed or sold in Canada. This task force should also consider the creation of an oversight entity to enforce the effective implementation of the Canadian traceability and labelling system and to measure progress outcomes.

Recommendation 8

That the Government of Canada develop labelling regulations to ensure full boat-to-plate traceability of imported and domestic fish and seafood products. These regulations should require that key information be paired with products along the entire supply chain using electronic records from point of catch to point of sale.

Recommendation 9

That the Government of Canada implement a seafood traceability and labelling system that protects Canadian supply chains from seafood of illegal, unreported, unregulated (IUU) harvest and harvest utilizing exploited workers.

Recommendation 10

That the Government of Canada implement a seafood traceability, labelling and certification system that protects the market value and market access of legally caught Canadian seafood and the prices that harvesters, processors, and retailers may receive for the seafood they sell.

Recommendation 11

That, as the Government of Canada develops a seafood traceability and labelling system, it must ensure that international trade laws and Canada’s treaty obligations and foreign partners’ obligations to Canada are defined and factored into the system’s development.

Recommendation 12

That the Government of Canada require catch documentation to identify the origin and verify the legality of all seafood products imported nationally, in accordance with European Union requirements and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations guidelines, which Canada agreed to support during the G7 summit in 2018. The federal government must also ensure that the new Canadian traceability and documentation systems are compatible with emerging global systems so as to avoid placing an additional regulatory burden on the industry or creating loopholes for illegally sourced products.

Recommendation 13

That, as the Government of Canada develops a seafood traceability and labelling system, it must ensure the system utilizes electronic systems and software that facilitate the effective sharing of data related to fish and seafood while also ensuring sensitive information of harvesters or their businesses is secured.