LICENSING THE SMALLER COMMERCIAL FISHERIES 125 



of the approach as well, and means of doing so are 

 already being investigated. An advisor^' committee of 

 halibut fishermen, appointed by the Mimster to assist in 

 implementing the proposals for the Canadian halibut 

 fishery, has operated with remarkable efficiency, and 

 within a few weeks completed its report to the Minister. 

 Although specific details have not been decided as this is 

 written, the new quota system is expected to be in place 

 for the 1983 season. 



The royalty proposed for halibut in Chapter 8, applied 

 to the 1981 total allowable catch, would yield $540 thou- 

 sand. This is, incidentally, roughly the amount of Can- 

 ada's contribution to the International Pacific Halibut 

 Commission. The Pacific Coast Fishing Vessel Owners 

 Guild, which represents halibut vesselowners, did not 

 object in principle to the proposed royalty, notwithstand- 

 ing qualifications about the rate and the purpose to which 

 the revenues would be put. Yet the Minister excluded this 

 particular part of the proposal from his announced inten- 

 tions, as he did with respect to the royalties proposed for 

 other species except salmon. I regard the royalty as an 

 essential adjunct to the licensing reforms to control, 

 among other things, the appreciation of licence values (an 

 effect which the Minister has also expressed an anxiety 

 about). 1 therefore urge that the royalty on the quota be 

 implemented without delay. 



SABLEFISH 



The sablefi.sh, or blackcod, fishery has much in com- 

 mon with the halibut fishery, though it is much smaller 

 and has grown conspicuously in recent years. The stocks 

 are demersal; they are jointly exploited by Canadian and 

 U.S. fishermen; and they are specifically fished using ves- 

 sels with specialized gear. Moreover, the licensed fleet is 

 grossly excessive. 



Following extension of Canada's fisheries jurisdiction 

 to 200 miles in 1979, and sparked by a sudden increase in 

 fish prices in Japan, Canadian landings of sablefish qua- 

 drupled over two years to nearly 4,000 tonnes with a 

 landed value of just under $5 million in 1981. But today 

 the fishery is seriously depressed, and the main obstacle 

 to improvement is that the fleet is several times too large 

 for the stocks to support. 



Sablefish are caught with a variety of gear, as Table 10- 

 2 indicates. Most are taken in traps, and the top three 

 trap vessels have accounted for almost half the total 

 catch in recent years. A smaller number of longline ves- 

 sels have sablefish licences, and they account for a 

 modest share of the catch. Halibut longliners without 

 sablefish licences are permitted to retain sablefish caught 

 incidentally during the halibut open season. Groundfish 

 trawlers are also permitted to retain catches of sablefish 



until the total allowable catch is reached and the sablefish 

 fishery is closed. Trawl catches have been declining in 

 recent years, however, averaging 244 tonnes since 1978. 



Table 10-2 Vessels involved in the sablefish fishery in 

 1981 



vessels 



licensed 



for sablefish 



vessels 



reporting 



landings 



of sablefish 



share of 



total sablefish 



landings 



(number) (number) (percent) 



trap vessels 



sablefish longline vessels 

 halibut vessels 

 eroundfish trawl vessels 



27 



20 











15 



9 



n.a. 



n.a. 



86 

 6 

 3 

 5 



Source: Department of Fisheries and Oceans. 



There are three main markets for sablefish. By far the 

 most important is the Japanese frozen fish market. To 

 serve it. the product must be of uniform high quality, 

 dressed to Japanese standards and frozen at sea. Smaller 

 quantities are sold fresh and for smoking in local mar- 

 kets, at lower pnces. Prices var>' widely according to the 

 quality and size of fish. 



Until the late 1970s the Canadian catch of sablefish 

 was modest. A Japanese longline fishery' began to 

 develop in the late 1960s and by the late 1970s was catch- 

 ing 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes oflT British Columbia. Vessels 

 from the Soviet Union, Korea and the United States, as 

 well as Canada, caught smaller amounts. 



Before 1977, when Canada extended its coastal fishing 

 jurisdiction, more than a hundred Canadian longline, 

 trap and trawl vessels were landing sablefish, but only 

 one trap vessel was occupied full time in the fishery. It 

 had demonstrated that a specialized domestic sablefish 

 fishery was feasible, but the investment required was sub- 

 stantial and the risk considerable. Clearly, the fishery 

 could be expanded: the Canadian vessels involved were 

 not capable of harvesting the allowable catch of 3,500 

 tonnes; and under the Law of the Sea, the balance had to 

 be made available to foreigners. The Department esti- 

 mated that the stocks could accommodate 10 to 15 spe- 

 cialized vessels. 



This was seen as an opportunity when it became clear 

 that Canadian fishermen would be excluded from the 

 Alaskan halibut fishery. The Canadian halibut fishery 

 was already overcrowded, but some of the larger halibut 

 boats that had been fishing in Alaska could be readily 

 adapted to fish for sablefish. So the Department offered 

 assistance with the investment required to convert them 

 for sablefish fishing under the relocation plan referred to 

 eariier. 



