106 RATIONAl IZINCi THJ' SALMON AND ROf-HFRRINd FISIirRIFS 



iii) A fHilicy of alliKating the catch annmg ci'iiipcting 

 sectors of each fleet \o ensure that all will share iii 

 the benefits of" fleet rationalization. 



iv) Provnsions tor royalties on landings to capture some 

 of the financial gains from fleet rationalization. 



v) New restnctions on vessel replacement, which — 

 coupled with levying royalties and eliminating subsi- 

 dies recommended in Chapter 13 — will dampen 

 licensees' incentives to expand their fishing power. 



Throughout, these major changes are designed to mini- 

 mize diskxration of established fishermen and vesselown- 

 ers, to preserve opportunities to enter the fisheries and to 

 ensure that the costs and benefits of change will be equi- 

 tably shared. 



Experience suggests that recommendations for chang- 

 ing fisheries should be detailed; otherwise uncertainties 

 generate resistance to reform. For this reason my propos- 

 als are more detailed than is common for commissions of 

 this kind. 



As required by my terms of reference, my Preliminary 

 Report contained a number of proposals for reforming 

 licensing arrangements and other policies affecting fleet 

 development, most of which are incorporated into the 

 more comprehensive program recommended in this 

 chapter. In making the interim recommendations in my 

 Preliminary Report I left certain matters to be dealt with 

 in this final report, leaving a range of options open. Sub- 

 sequently, the Minister announced that, while he 

 intended to adopt some of the Commission's other rec- 

 ommendations, action on these proposals for the salmon 

 and roe-herring fisheries would be postponed until he had 

 received my final report. In the meantime, I have had 

 helpful commentary from participants in the public hear- 

 ings on both the preliminary recommendations and the 

 issues I left for later resolution. 



The specific proposals in the remainder of this chapter 

 conform to the general framework for licensing policy 

 developed in the preceding chapter. 



Licence Specifications 



In Chapter 8, I explained that a commercial fishing 

 licence should authorize the holder to fish for a particular 

 species in a defined area and, where relevant, with a 

 specified type of gear. In addition, it should be issued for 

 a term of 10 years. Within limits, licences should be 

 transferable and new licences should be issued through 

 competitive bidding. The proposals that follow provide 

 the means of transforming the existing licences for 

 salmon and roe-herring to incorporate these principles 

 and at the same time to reduce the fleets. 



Initiiil licviHX's While new limited-entry licences 

 sh(.)uld be allocated in tuture through competition, for the 

 rea.sons I explained in Chapter 8, those who already hold 

 licences should be grandfathered into new fishing privi- 

 leges, with the proposed longer terms. Thus 



1. All existing ordinary and Indian salnxm Iicence<i and 

 nic-licrring iic-encts should he replaced in 1983 by 

 new licences having 10-year terms. 



Most temporary salmon licences already carry definite 

 terms, and these should not be altered. The "original B" 

 licensees, particularly, have made strong representations 

 for extending their privileges further,'' but by 1983 they 

 will have had 5 years' extension beyond the original 10- 

 year terms. In view of the crucial need to reduce the 

 excessive number of outstanding licences I caimot recom- 

 mend that they be extended further, especially in light of 

 my concern to persuade the government to set fixed 

 terms on other licences and assure all fishermen that (in 

 contrast to past performance) all terms will be rigorously 

 adhered to. Thus — 



2. The existing temporary C'B") salmon licences should 

 be renewed until the year in which they are scheduled 

 to expire, then eliminated. 



This will mean that 87 "original B" temporary licences 

 will expire at the end of 1983, the 27 "downgraded B's" 

 and 34 of the 48 "appeal B" licences will expire in various 

 years by 1988. 



This leaves the 14 "appeal B" licences held by Indians, 

 the term of which is subject to aimual review. These 

 terms are the most unsatisfactory of all, having never 

 been fixed at 10 years like other licences and implying at 

 least the possibility of indefinite extensions one year at a 

 time. I therefore recommend that — 



3. Appeal "B" salmon licences held by Indians should be 

 replaced in 1983 by new licences having 10-year 

 terms, on the condition that they continue to be 

 exercised by the present licensees. 



By adopting this schedule, the status of the temporary 

 licences will be clarified and all will be eliminated within 

 a few years. In the meantime, all temporary licensees 

 should be eligible to bid for new licences during the tran- 

 sitional period (recommended later in this chapter) as 

 long as their current licences are in effect. Like anyone 

 else, they would also be eligible to bid after the transi- 

 tional p)eriod. 



In Chapter 8 I recommended that all licences should 

 be issued to persons or companies, and that they should 

 designate the vessel to be used. In these two limited-entry 

 fisheries, the designated vessels must be subject to 

 replacement rules to control fleet expansion. Neither of 

 the present licensing systems meet these requirements: 



