IK) iiciNsiM. nil sMMi iR roMNir RC'iM FisurRirs 



Usher* has niDrc than doubk-il siikc I^'<>>, and ihc lt)tal 

 tonnage of the active licet has increased threetold. 



The groiindfish trawl ("T") hcences are now issued 

 annuallv at a fee of $10 to vessels that carried a licence 

 the preceding year. ITiey are transferable, and a licensed 

 vessel may be replaced acci>rdmg to the lix>t-for-foc)t 

 rule. 



TixJay. this fishery is under extreme financial stress. 

 The markets for groundfish species have declined. The 

 vessels involved in trawling consume exceptionally large 

 amounts of fuel, so that escalating fuel costs have had a 

 particularly heavy impact on this fleet. This has been 

 aggravated by vessel subsidies that biased construction 

 toward larger, less fuel-efficient vessels. And most funda- 

 mentally, the stocks are insuflncient to support the overex- 

 panded fleet. 



According to the Department, about 60 vessels fish 

 groundfish six months or more each year. Because of the 

 poor returns, many of the licensed vessels do not fish 

 every year. These are typically licensed for other fisheries 

 as well. Their abstention is undoubtedly beneficial, but 

 the idle licensed capacity nevertheless poses a threat of 

 increased fishery effort in future and is a major impedi- 

 ment to improving the long-term economic circum- 

 stances of this fishery. In the words of the trawlers orga- 

 nization — 



TTiese inactive licences are a great threat to 

 the fishermen who genuinely depend on trawl 

 fishing for their living because as things get 

 more difficult in other sectors, the inactive 

 trawl licence holders move freely into the 

 trawl fishery, thus aggravating an already 

 growing problem. The serious potential prob- 

 lem here must be dealt with. . . } 



Proposals for Refomi 



The policies governing the allocation of groundfish 

 fishing privileges clearly need to be improved, but the 

 reforms must take into account the special features of this 

 fishery. Besides those already noted, other characteristics 

 should influence the nature of reform. First, some of the 

 major species in this fishery are caught with more than 

 one type of gear. For example, vessels with residual spe- 

 cies ("C") licences (discussed below) catch well over one- 

 third of the ling cod and a significant fraction of the 

 rockfish and grey cod with hook-and-line gear. In the 

 interest of effective resource management, a regulatory 

 system should preferably embrace all users of the rele- 

 vant stocks. 



Second, this fishery depends on a mixture of species. 

 Some of these inevitably are caught together, in which 

 case it is appropriate that they be managed under a single 



regulatory system. But some of the major species such as 

 rockfish, dogfish and hake are taken independently 

 through fishing ellbrt directed specifically to them. These 

 call (or separate regulatory arrangements, since each sep- 

 arable species has its unique yield capabilities and other 

 characteristics. 



Third, these fisheries are at present economically mar- 

 ginal and. at today's prices and costs, even if they were 

 fully rationalized they would not be highly profitable. 

 This implies, among other things, that this fi.shery ought 

 not to be subjected to complicated and costly changes in 

 regulatory arrangements. 



These considerations lead me to conclude that the poli- 

 cies governing the groundfish fisheries should be 

 reformed, but that the changes should be made gradually. 

 The most important change is to provide for a separate 

 licensing system for those distinct species that are inde- 

 pendently exploited and call for independent manage- 

 ment. The resulting proliferation of licences will likely be 

 seen as a nuisance to fishermen, and so they should be as 

 simple as the following recommendations allow. The 

 most conspicuous species in this category are rockfish, 

 dogfish, hake and pollock. 



Rockfish Rockfish, mainly Pacific ocean perch, sup- 

 port a high-volume fishery producing a low-value prod- 

 uct. They have become the base for the largest directed 

 groundfish fishery, having expanded in recent years in 

 response to strengthening markets in the United States. 



The stocks were heavily depleted by foreign fleets in 

 the 1960s and 1970s, and in order to rehabilitate them the 

 allowable catches have been held low since they came 

 under Canadian control. The small catch and the overex- 

 panded fleet have resulted in the catch being taken 

 quickly, the season having to be closed early, and proces- 

 sors having to cope with large volumes in a short period 

 and to carry large inventories. 



This fishery lends itself well to a quota licensing sys- 

 tem. Rockfish are taken independently of other 

 groundfish and so, like sablefish and halibut, can be 

 treated as a separate fishery. The allowable catch is rela- 

 tively stable and can be fixed in advance, the stocks are 

 relatively immobile, and incidental catches of other spe- 

 cies are small. Moreover, a quota system would enable 

 fishermen and processors to spread the catch smoothly 

 and efficiently over the year. I therefore recommend 

 that— 



22. Separate 10-year rockfish quota licences should be 

 issued in 1983 to owners of vessels with groundfish 

 trawl licences that reported landings of rockfish in 

 1980 or 1981. The quota for which each licensee is 

 eligible should be related to his reported landings in 

 those years. 



