126 lICINSINti IIU SMALl.F.R CT)MMJ R( I \l I ISHIRIl-S 



I icciicc limitation was cDiUcinplatcd m 1^)78 to ensure 

 that the tleet did not overexpand but, as has usually been 

 the case, it was left ttxi late. A year later the Japanese 

 market lor sablehsh buryeoneil. and triggered a stampede 

 into the fishery. The tleet was obviously overexpanding. 

 Moreover, the prospects for tho.se wht) had already made 

 heavy financial commitments to this fishery were being 

 undermined, and most of them had no access to other 

 limited-entry fisheries. The Minister finally restricted fur- 

 ther entry in October 1979, but by then 47 vessels had to 

 be grandfathered in, even under stringent qualifying cri- 

 teria relating to past landings and investments in 

 sablefish gear. 



Sablefish ("K") licences are issued annually for a fee of 

 $10 to vessels that carried a licence the preceding year. 

 Tlie licence can be transferred with the vessel, but the 

 foot-for-foot rule applies if the licensed vessel is replaced. 



With three or four times the needed capacity licensed 

 to fish the stocks, the sablefish fishery is now in serious 

 difficulty. Only half the licensed vessels engaged in the 

 fishery in 1981, yet the fishing pressure forced an early 

 closure. Any improvement in markets can be expected to 

 attract more fishing effort from the inactive licensees, 

 which will offset improved earnings and force earlier clo- 

 sures. 



Proposed Qianges 



In many ways, these circumstances are similar to those 

 of the halibut fishery, and lend themselves equally well to 

 rationalization through an individual quota system. The 

 sablefish fishery is already managed according to an 

 aggregate quota on the total allowable catch, currently at 

 3,500 tonnes, and this is very stable. Both trap and long- 

 line techniques are fairly slow and controllable catching 

 methods, which will facilitate accuracy in meeting catch 

 targets. Most of the catch is accounted for by a handful 

 of vessels, which will simplify surveillance and enforce- 

 ment. 



I have already proposed procedures for distributing 

 initial quotas, based on landings in 1980 and 1981. For 

 these purposes, landings should be counted regardless of 

 the type of gear or licence with which the catches were 

 taken. A minor modification is called for to accommo- 

 date the historical catch of trawlers: to avoid the special 

 complications that would arise from assigning each of 

 them an individual quota, I propose that a small share of 

 the total allowable catch should be reserved for the trawl 

 fleet collectively, based on the historical catch of this sec- 

 tor. The remainder of the total should be allocated to 

 sablefish trap and longline licensees and to halibut long- 

 liners who have been catching sablefish incidentally. 



To implement these changes, I recommend the follow- 

 ing: 



15. T\w total allowahle calcli of sablefish should Ih.- dctcr- 

 niiiUHl for each /x»n.' and allocated as follows. 



i) A coaslwide total of 250 toiiiics should he allo- 

 cateil lo tiK' (rawl fleet, split auiou^ the three 

 zones according lo historical catches in each 

 zone. Hiis alkK'ution should not lie enilxxlied in 

 individual licences. 



ii) Five percent of tlK> reiiuuning total allowable 

 catch in each zone should be temporarily held in 

 reserve for appeals. 



iii) Owners of vessels other than trawlers that landed 

 sablefish in 1980 or 1981 shoiJd be issued new 

 10-year quota licences related to their reported 

 landings in those years without respect to gear. 

 They should be required to select the zone or 

 zones in which their licences will apply and the 

 remaining alUmable catch sliould be allocated 

 among them accordingly. 



16. The fishing season for sablefish should be expanded to 

 the maximum period that biological considerations 

 permit. 



The sablefish industry should benefit substantially 

 from these changes. Besides the benefits to be expected 

 from a quota licensing system, some problems peculiar to 

 the sablefish fishery will be alleviated. One is the short- 

 ened fishing season; with quotas totalling the allowable 

 catch, seasonal closure should not be needed. Another is 

 the hitherto discriminatory treatment of the several types 

 of vessels involved, especially with respect to the partici- 

 pation of vessels without sablefish licences and the 

 differing open seasons applied. Another is the halibut 

 fishermen's longstanding complaint that they are not per- 

 mitted to retain sablefish when the sablefish fishery is 

 open and the halibut fishery is not, even though they 

 historically did so. Such regulations will no longer be nec- 

 essary; and with the recommended changes for the hali- 

 but fishery, they will be ineffective in any event. 



FOOD AND BAIT HERRING 



Herring have supported several more-or-less separate 

 fisheries over the years. Until the mid 1960s the stocks 

 supported a major fishery based on reducing the fish into 

 meal and oil. More recently they have supported the 

 large roe-herring industry discussed in the preceding 

 chapter. And herring for human food, bait and other 

 minor uses have all attracted fisheries with characteristic 

 gear, seasons and products. Here I deal with the food- 

 herring fishery and the smaller fishery for bait, which are 

 closely integrated and conducted more-or-less jointly. | 

 Among the herring industries these fisheries are second in 



