The Newfoundland and Labrador Fishing and Petroleum Industries:

Operating in

Overview of Presentation

• Introduction to One Ocean

• Ocean Development and Boundary Delimitations

• The Fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador

• The Petroleum Industry in Newfoundland and Labrador

• Comparison of Newfoundland and the North Sea

• More about One Ocean

What is ONE OCEAN?

• One Ocean is a liaison organization created for and by the petroleum and fishing industries in 2002.

• The structure of One Ocean consists of an Industry Board, an independent Chairperson, and an independent Secretariat.

• The One Ocean Secretariat is located at the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland.

What is ONE OCEAN?

• One Ocean brings together the fishing and petroleum sectors in this province. Industry Board representatives sit face-to-face to discuss operational activity issues, as well as government mandates and legislative frameworks.

• This medium to convene the fishing and oil and gas sectors never existed in Newfoundland and Labrador until the inception of One Ocean. This model is unique in Canada and the world.

• Ocean Development and Boundary Delimitations• The Fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador • The Petroleum Industry in Newfoundland and Labrador • Comparison of Newfoundland and the North Sea• More about One Ocean

Why does Newfoundland and Labrador Need

Marine Resources and Ocean Development

• Canada: – Longest coastline in the world– Borders on three oceans and has a quarter of its

population living in coastal communities

• Control over marine resources:– Maritime jurisdictional boundary zones;

Territorial, Contiguous, EEZ.

• Boundary delimitations have not been a deterrent for unrestrained competition at home or on a global scale.

Marine Resources and Ocean Development

• Users and uses:– Fishing, (commercial/recreation), oil and gas,

aquaculture, tourism, marine transportation, military, ocean dumping.

– Creates competition for space and economic gain.

• Technology– Technological advances in extraction resulted in

mass production, increased effort and development of new gear for greater depth and farther offshore.

Newfoundland and Labrador Fishing Industry

• The fishery was the reason Newfoundland became a settlement 500 years ago.

• Newfoundland was, “[T]he great ship moored near the fishing banks.” (Northern Cod Review Panel).

• Fishery remains the reason many Newfoundlanders stay – it has defined us culturally, economically, politically and socially.

Ocean Development and the Fishery

• Closure of Baltic Sea cod fishery April-August 2003

• Indefinite closure of the majority of Canada’s Atlantic cod fishery announced in May 2003.

• Recreational and commercial fishing conflicts will grow without prompt governance models.

• Aquaculture farms i.e., salmon use 3 lbs of fishmeal (small pelagics) to yield 1 lb. of salmon, and escaped species pose a threat to the native fish gene pool.

Ocean Development and the Fishery• 75% of world marine fish stocks are either fully

exploited; overexploited;depleted; or recovering from depletion.

• A major concern is the failure of haddock, redfish and cod to respond to the drastic management measures that have been adopted in the Northwest Atlantic.

• The use of superior technology or fishing methods would result in higher catches, without impeding sector fishery success.

(The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, 2002: FAO/UN).

Ocean Development and the Fishery

• Ocean Dumping is the largest assault against our marine environment– Pumping bilge at sea– sewage disposal– Airborne contaminants– Military waste: live ammunition; poisonous

gases; nuclear submarines – Land-based sources

Ocean Development and the Fishery

Although the oil and gas industry is the most stringently regulated ocean industry, there are potential risks associated with oil and gas production and transshipment:– Fixed installations on the seabed, FPSOs, pipelines?– Exploratory Drilling– Seismic survey– Production accidents and/or discharge– Tanker accidents and marine traffic congestion

NL Fishery – Value of Fishery

• Despite collapse of groundfish, value of fishery increased due to lucrative shellfish industry.

• Worth $1billion annually (production/export value).

• Employment levels cut in half in processing sector and reduced in harvesting compared to pre-moratoria.

• Fishery is still major employer in the province.

NL Fishery - Offshore

• 40% or 20,000 MT of crab (province’s most valued fishery resource) is harvested in and around the Grand Banks.

• These traditional stomping grounds are now shared with oil rigs, tankers, supply ships, seismic vessels.

NL Fishery - Today

• More effort for fishing conducted offshore

• Traditional inshore fishers have joined deep-sea counterparts on the Grand Banks.

• Many fish in the NAFO 3L region (~300 km from St. John’s) same area as Hibernia, Terra Nova and scheduled White Rose.

Steps To Achieve Sustainable Development

• Prioritize the need for pro-active versus reactive practices for the recovery, protection and conservation of our marine biodiversity. IT IS OUR BEST ASSET!

• The regulators must be the instrument of promulgation of the plundering of our seas – DFO is the lead agency for ocean activity.

Newfoundland and Labrador Petroleum Industry

• First exploration wells – 1966

• Discoveries:– Hibernia 1979– Terra Nova 1984– White Rose 1984

• Production fields:– Hibernia 1997; Terra Nova 2002; White Rose 2005

Newfoundland and Labrador Petroleum Industry

• Industry has identified 8 Basins of interest

• More recent interest in the Laurentian Subbasin

• Jeanne d’Arc Basin most successful– 2.1 billion barrels of oil– 5.6 trillion CF of gas

Newfoundland-North Sea

•Fish landings in Newfoundland – 250,000 tonnes

•Value of fish landings in Newfoundland - $500 million

•Fish landing in the North Sea – 2.3 million tonnes

•Value of landings in the North Sea - $2.5 billion

Newfoundland – North Sea

• Daily oil production in Newfoundland – 300,000 bbls/day.

• Daily oil production in the North Sea – 6 million bbls/day.

Offshore oil and gas infrastructure in Newfoundland:Pipeline 0 Production Installations 2

Offshore oil and gas infrastructure in the North Sea:Pipeline 15,000 kms Production Installations 400

MORE ABOUT…..

Activities To-Date

• Participated in an Industry Study Tour in Norway and Scotland – October 2002

• Held an Industry Workshop in Newfoundland for the petroleum and fishing industry stakeholders with invited guests from Atlantic Canada and Europe – February 2003.

ONE OCEAN Activities

• One Ocean has hosted industry-specific information sessions including:

Presentation on the Prestige Oil Spill-March 2003

Informal Discussion on Seismic Issues and Research in the Newfoundland Region- April 2003.

ONE OCEAN Activities

• Member of the Environmental Studies Research Fund (ESRF) Advisory Board

• Reviewed two Strategic Environmental Assessments:

• Laurentian Subbasin and Orphan Basin offshore regions and submitted comments and suggestions to the C-NOPB.

ONE OCEAN Current Endeavours

• One Ocean has developed a research project to analyze the response capability for oil spills in the province. The Secretariat has visited sites such as Whiffen Head Transshipment Terminal and North Atlantic Refinery in Come-By-Chance and the Holyrood Generating Station.

ONE OCEAN Current Endeavours

• One Ocean has partnered with various members with an interest in ocean-related activities to collaborate on the initiative to provide a comprehensive oil spill-response training curriculum to fishers in the Newfoundland region.

• One Ocean is a member of the Canadian Coastal Zone Conference (CCZC) Planning Committee 2004, and hopes to host a session for graduate students from the EU and Newfoundland to discuss and promote sustainable use of the Grand Banks’ ecosystem.

Conclusion

• Since 2002, One Ocean has been a progressive advocate for sustainable co-existence of the Newfoundland and Labrador fishing and petroleum industries.

• The structure and commitment of One Ocean enhances the opportunity for information dissemination and progressive joint initiatives for two industries operating in one ocean.

• Where will we be in 25 years?

maureen.murphy@mi.mun.caTelephone: 709 778-0511