THE FISHERMAN. DECEMBER 16, 1996
Plan to lengthen season proposed
There have been a number of meetings with DFO and the Prawn Sectoral Committee this fall to deal with two main issues:
• DFO shellfish division's requests to raise more revenue from fishermen to replace the money slashed by Ottawa;
• Fishermen's concerns with the fishery and how to design a fishing plan in 1997 that will address those concerns.
On the issue of cost recovery, it seems that this is something that all fishermen are going to have to face. DFO came in and asked for a 50 per cent increase in licence fees only two years after fishermen had agreed to a 2,500 per cent increase in fees to pay for trap limitation and a more complete management plan.
Prawn fishermen already pay 90 per cent of the costs of managing the fishery. Ottawa should be putting more into managing resources, especially in a common property fishery like prawns. Prawn fishermen did not go the route of black cod or other quota fisheries that created a small group of wealthy licence holders while eliminating jobs. That fact has to be recognized by Ottawa when the time comes to decide what to put into the resource. DFO certainly can't expect 100 per cent cost recovery, especially since the government would face many of the research and stock assessment costs even if there were no fishery.
The issue needs to be resolved by dealing with fisheries
0 1 \ B \ HnHH
Prawns Guy Johnston
in total, rather than the current piecemeal approach, fishery by fishery. And if there is to be cost recovery, isn't a royalty the fair way to go? That way, you pay as you benefit, rather than paying it all up front.
There are also a number of concerns in the fishery, on the conservation and marketing fronts.
The percentage of medium prawns caught has increased this year, which isn't healthy for the population dynamics. In addition, the past season was 2 1/2 months shorter than last year, which has intensified fishing and increased the pressure on the stocks.
With that shorter season, we're being tied more and more into one market fishery—the Japanese frozen market (local
live and fresh markets must have product available for five or six months to retain buyers). That puts us in a much weaker position on prices.
On a positive note, most groups in the sectoral committee are very committed to designing a fishery that ensures we have a wide safety margin for the resource. We don't want to find the limit of what we can fish because once that line has been crossed, you never know how long it will take the resource to recover.
At its last meeting in November, the UFAWU prawn committee came up with a number of proposals for changes to the fishery:
• Increase the minimum size by one mm to 33 mm. That would likely bring the legal
count to about 40 per kg and would begin to reduce the percentage of medium prawns, with both biological and economic benefits;
• Sort prawns as they come on board;
• On a one-year trial basis, establish a new regulation that would see everyone fish 300-450 traps for the first six weeks of the season and then drop the number of traps to 150-225. Finally, after 12 weeks, open the delayed areas. This is a flexible position but we feel that something must be done in 1997 so that we don't end up with an eight or 12-week season.
Approximately 60-70 per cent of the allowable catch is landed in the first two months, so for most of the production, if not time, fishermen would be fishing a full 300 traps anyway. The reduction to 150 traps would dramatically slow down the fishery. There would be some double pulling but at this time of the season it would not be as productive as at the beginning.
The opening of the delayed areas would spread out the fleet once again, ease the pressure on the stocks and perhaps hold off any closures for a longer period. And since many boats also go on salmon, the smaller fleet and the drop to 150 traps could help set a summer slowdown as the long terra fishing pattern.
We're proposing this plan for one-year period for a number of reasons: it can be done immediately, in time for the 1997 season, there's no need for increased enforcement and it's a simple
plan that doesn't require any money changing hands. If other measures are necessary, or if a different approach is better, changes can be made the following year.
One other item that came up at the board: DFO has been talking about assigning humpback shrimp to the W licence. After talking to some union shrimp trawlers and reading some letters from other shrimpers, it is clear there is a real misunderstanding of what is going on here.
First, the prawn sectoral board has never raised humpback shrimp at all, let alone talked about assigning it to the W licence.
Second, the UFAWU prawn committee does not support the notion that humpbacks must be exclusively fished by trap.
DFO apparently raised the issue from a point of view that it was a bycatch problem for juvenile prawns and rockfish when tows are made on hard bottom. If there is a bycatch problem, then let's deal with it. But we don't want to get into DFO's favourite game of having fishermen too busy fighting one another to deal with DFO.
To make sure that people don't feel that things are going on behind their backs, the Prawn Sectoral Committee will now be sending their minutes to the shrimp advisors. That way, there won't be any doubt about what's going on.
If you want more information, call me at 746-3651 or Tom Orr at 652-4608.
DIGITAL ANTENNAS
OUTPERFORM MOST POPULAR BRANDS
Overcomes poor performance caused by rough sea conditions and marginal mounting locations
Built for the commercial market; priced for the pleasure market
Height above water is less critical
Outstanding
omni-directional
performance
ADVANCED GROUND PLANE DESIGN
PROTECTION ROM LIGHTNING
Distributed in Canada by ComNaV Marine Ltd.
Vancouver, Canada Phone: (604) 872-3000 • Fax: (604) 872-3599 Toll Free Phone: 1-800-428-0212 • Toll Free Fax: 1-800-470-9611
Insuring you have a safe and health fishing season.
PARSONS BROWN
& Company Ltd.
Since 1922 INSURANCE BROKERS
MARINE RISKS ♦ FISHING VESSELS BOAT YARDS ♦ DOCKS, WHARVES ♦ MARINE LIABILITY ♦
We are proud to be the B.C. representative of the new Canadian Vessel Insurance Program in co-operation with the UFAWU and the Canadian Council of Fish Harvesters.
7th Floor - 4470 Granville Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6C 1 Wl Phone: (604) 684-0311 Fax: (604) 682-7039
Marine Manager - Bill Herman
Experience ♦ Reliability ♦ Professional support