'W \ tRWIIVVORk K)R ((iMMJRtlAl 1 KI.NSINCi 



When a new linutcii-ciUry licensing system is intio- 

 duced. a lenirK)rar\ special appeal committee is usually 

 struck to deal v\nh the typically numerous applications 

 from fishermen who ("ail to quality under the regulations 

 but feel they are entitled to a licence. Iliese special com- 

 mittees are chaired by the chairman of the Vessel Licence 

 Appeal Committee, and they usually operate within well- 

 established guidelines. Applicants who are denied their 

 appeals by a special committee may apply liirther to the 

 appeal board. 



Many fishermen are cynical about, and distrustful of, 

 this elaborate appeal system. These feelings appear to 

 result from unnecessarily secretive aspects of the appeal 

 process. The grounds on which appeals are made are 

 never disclosed, nor is the board's rationale for approving 

 them. So, even though an approval may be entirely 

 appropriate, outsiders have no basis for assessing this. In 

 the circumstances of the fisheries, where the granting of 

 licences affects not only those who receive them, but also 

 indirectly the welfare of all the other fishermen who may 

 be competing for the same catch, this arrangement is 

 bound to cause discontent. Finally, it is questionable 

 whether two levels of appeal are required and whether, in 

 light of experience, the Minister needs to retain the power 

 to make final decisions. 



I have concluded that the existing structures and pro- 

 cedures for appealing decisions relating to licensing are 

 unnecessarily cumbersome, and therefore make the fol- 

 lowing recommendations: 



37. The Pacific Fisheries Licensing Board should hear all 

 appeals from decisions of its executive director con- 

 cerning licensing, and decisions of the board should be 

 final and binding. 



38. Ap|K-als to (he Minister (if l< ishcries should Ik- discon- 

 tiniKHl. 



39. I1m> presi>ntati«»n of all a|)|H.'als to (he board and all 

 hoard decisions should Ik> open to (Ik- public. 



Other responsibilities o\ the board relating to fleet 

 rationalization are described in the following chapter. 



Conclusion 



The policies the industry now lives under have grown 

 like topsy over the past decade; hard lessons have been 

 learned from this experience, and it is now time for a 

 comprehensive and systematic licensing system that will 

 provide the means of meeting today's challenges. 



The recommendations in this chapter are wide ranging. 

 As a package they are intended to introduce a licensing 

 framework that will modernize the methods of allocating 

 fishing privileges, meet the government's commitments to 

 existing licence holders and, at the same time, provide the 

 means to cope with the urgent problem of fleet rational- 

 ization. The proposed system will also advance other 

 objectives of public policy relating to allocating rights, 

 transfers, concentration of holdings, payments to the 

 public treasury and ancilliary administrative arrange- 

 ments. 



The three succeeding chapters address specific policies 

 for licensing individual fisheries and rationalizing fishing 

 for the future. There I recommend specific steps for mak- 

 ing the transition from present arrangements to the new 

 licensing system. The salmon and roe-herring fisheries 

 are dealt with in Chapter 9, all other commercial species 

 in Chapter 10, and opportunities in mariculture and 

 ocean ranching are discussed in Chapter 1 1 . 



FOOTNOTES 



1 . Pacific Coast Salmon Seiners Association, Eixhibit #76, p. 22. 



2. Reforming Regulation. Economic Council of Canada, Ottawa. 

 1981. Chapter 7. 



3. Commercial Fishenes and Mariculture: A Policy for the 1980's. 

 Ministry of Environment, Victona. (undated), p. 6. 



4. West Coast Salmon Fleet Development Committee Report. Fisher- 

 ies and Marine Service. Department of the Environment, Vancou- 

 ver. Apnl. 1973. p. 8. 



5. Sol. Sinclair. A Licensing and Fee System for the Coastal Fisheries 

 of British Columbia. IDepartment of Fishenes and Oceans, Van- 

 couver. December. 1978. Volume I. p. 290-293. 



6. Commercial Fisheries and Mariculture. p. 14. 



7. Commercial Fisheries and Mariculture. p. 6. 



8. New Democratic Party, Exhibit #136. p. 2. 



9. The Public Regulation of Commercial Fisheries in Canada. Eco- 

 nomic Council of Canada, Ottawa. 1981. p. 45. See also Reforming 

 Regulation, p. 77. 



