A FRAMEWORK FOR COMMERCIAL LICENSING 97 



salmon and roe-herring fleets. This would be a separate 

 entity from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and 

 would be guided by a board of directors appointed from 

 industry as well as government. 



Since then, I have concluded that licensing administra- 

 tion in the Pacific region should be clearly separated 

 from fisheries management and elevated to a level com- 

 mensurate with its importance under a separate agency. 

 This licensing function would neatly complement the 

 responsibilities of the proposed corporation. Both would 

 be heavily involved in fleet development through the 

 licensing medium, they would have common needs for 

 basic information about the size and structure of the vari- 

 ous limited-entry fishing fleets, and the activities of both 

 would be closely linked through the transitional period 

 recommended in Chapter 9 for rationalizing the salmon 

 and roe-herring fleets. 



I therefore propose that all of these functions be com- 

 bined into a single agency, with responsibility for all 

 aspects of fisheries licensing and fleet development: 



35. A Pacific Fisheries Liccasing Board should be created 

 under legislation as a Cnmn coqH)ratiun. 



The board should be given responsibility for adminis- 

 tering commercial fishing licences within the general pol- 

 icy set out in the Fisheries Act and regulations, and 

 should be responsible to the Minister for ensuring that 

 licensing policy is applied uniformly and consistently. It 

 should be responsible for conducting competitions for 

 new licences, carrying out the licence retirement program 

 (recommended in Chapter 9), maintaining a public 

 record of licence holdings, deciding licence appeals, and 

 advising the Department on needed changes in licensing 

 policy. 



The board members should be appointed mainly for 

 their experience in the fishing industry or related fields, 

 though to avoid conflicts of interest none should be 

 actively involved in the industry while serving on the 

 board. At least one member should be an official of the 

 Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Nongovernment 

 members should be part time and should be paid for the 

 time they spend on board business. 



36. A full-time executive director should be appointed by 

 the board to oversee its day-to-day operations and to 

 decide initially all questioas that arise concerning 

 conunercial licences. He should be responsible to the 

 board and have sufficient staff and facilities to carrv 

 out the board's responsibilities. 



Licensing Appeals 



When judgments must be made about an applicant's 

 eligibility for obtaining a licence or replacing a vessel, 

 some kind of appeal mechanism is needed. Also, because 



withholding a licence can have major consequences for 

 an individual's livelihood, a variety of special circum- 

 stances can arise that deserve consideration. For these 

 reasons, the Department has evolved an appeal system 

 over recent years. 



When a fisherman or vesselowner applies to the licens- 

 ing section of the Department for a licence, transfer, 

 replacement or some other matter relating to licensing, 

 and his application does not meet the licensing regula- 

 tions, he is given a written rejection with the reasons for 

 the denial. He may then pursue the matter by writing to 

 the Vessel Licence Appeal Committee, explaining why he 

 thinks he should be exempted from the relevant provi- 

 sions in the regulations. The chairman of this committee 

 is a Departmental licence appeals officer who devotes full 

 time to this task and handles routine cases without fur- 

 ther referral. 



Unusual or controversial cases are referred to the full 

 committee, consisting of the chairman and two other 

 public servants. TTie committee reviews decisions made 

 by the licensing section, considering any new information 

 that may have become available and referring to past 

 decisions. If the committee has any doubt about the 

 appropriate decision, it denies the appeal and informs the 

 applicant of his right to appeal to the Pacific Region 

 Licence Appeal Board. 



This appeal board is largely independent of the 

 Department. All six members are appointed by the Min- 

 ister; the one Department employee on the board serves 

 as chairman and secretary but does not vote on decisions. 

 Four are retired fishermen with broad knowledge of com- 

 mercial fishing, and the other is selected for his general 

 knowledge of the fishing industry. The board meets in 

 Vancouver one or two days each month. 



Applications for appeal to the Licence Appeal Board 

 are submitted in writing, and applicants are encouraged 

 to appear in person before the board. After the appellant 

 presents his case, the board deliberates and sends its deci- 

 sion to the Minister with the details of the appeal. The 

 Minister, finally, considers the case and the board's rec- 

 ommendation. He may request more information from 

 the board, or ask it to reconsider its decision, but in most 

 cases he accepts the recommendation and informs the 

 appellant of his decision. 



The grounds for apf)eal are set out in some detail in the 

 Pacific Fishing Registration and Licensing Regulations; 

 they refer to late applications for reasons beyond the con- 

 trol of the applicant, injury, industrial disputes and acts 

 of God among other things. In 1981 the appeal board 

 considered 160 appeals, about half of which were 

 approved and half denied. 



