LICENSING THE SMALLER COMMERCIAL FISHERIES 135 



catch while the rest is spread among a large number of 

 part-time operations, mainly ofT-season salmon fisher- 

 men. A substantial catch is taken by recreational fisher- 

 men as well. The value of crabs has risen sharply in 

 recent years, to about $1 per pound in 1981 from half 

 that only four years earlier. 



In 1981, 358 vessels caught 1 191 tonnes of crab valued 

 at $2.6 million. Apart from a small quantity taken inci- 

 dentally by trawlers, the commercial catch is typically 

 taken in traps baited with squid imported from California 

 or with local razor clams. 



Like prawns, this fishery is not managed according to 

 predetermined allowable catch limits: in this case the 

 stocks are protected by a prohibition on taking crabs 

 measuring less than 6'/: inches across the back. Since 

 females do not grow that large, and males breed before 

 they reach that size, the biological viability of the stocks 

 is maintained by this rule. 



Crab is a relatively immobile species, and most are 

 taken in three areas: the Fraser River, the west coast of 

 Vancouver Island, and the Hecate Strait-Dixon entrance 

 area. The fisheries are closed in the summer when crab 

 shells are soft and their market value is low. For this 

 reason crabbing complements the salmon fishery. While 

 information is weak, catches are believed to have reached 

 the sustainable yield of the stocks. 



The crab fishery has become seriously overcrowded in 

 recent years. Attracted by high prices for crab and 

 increasing restrictions in other fisheries, more and more 

 vessels have been fitted out with crab traps. The evidence 

 of overcapacity is typical. While the number of vessels 

 rose by 150 percent in the 5 years prior to 1981, the aver- 

 age catch fell by one-third. The problem is recognized by 

 crab fishermen: 



... the crab fishery doesn't differ too much 

 from the rest of the fisheries. There seems to 

 be too many boats chasing too few 

 crabs. . . .'" 



If this fi.shery is to realize its considerable potential, it will 

 obviously need a more suitable regulatory framework. 



This fishery lends itself well to quota licensing by 

 zones. Suitably introduced, such an arrangement would 

 secure the position of existing fishermen from further ero- 

 sion by new entrants and promote rationalization of the 

 already overexpanded fleet. Two special problems must 

 be faced. One is the rather poor statistical record of land- 

 ings. However, with the high proportion of the catch 

 taken by a few vessels, for which data are relatively com- 

 plete, this problem seems manageable. The other is that 

 present information makes estimating appropriate allow- 

 able catches difficult; it will likely be some years before 

 improved information will enable reliable calculations to 



be made. In the meantime, quota allocations should be 

 held at or below catch levels of the recent past. Fortui- 

 tously, protecting the stocks by size regulations elimi- 

 nates the risk associated with fishing beyond the stocks' 

 sustainable yield. 



I therefore make the following recommendations: 



49. Separate 10-year quota licences should be issued in 

 1983 to owners of vessels that reported landings in 

 1980 or 1981. 



50. The quota authorized under each licence should be 

 equal to the liceasee's average reported landings in 

 1980 and 1981. 



51. Initial holders of crab quota licences should be 

 required to select the zones in which tlieir quotas will 

 apply. 



52. The Department should improve its base of biological 

 information for determining its allowable catches of 

 crabs and regulate new quota allocations accordingly. 



These changes would provide a much more effective 

 regulatory framework for the crab fishery, and enable it 

 to become rationalized to the available catch. They 

 would also afibrd certain other incidental benefits for this 

 fisherv. Under current conditions the major crab fisher- 

 men are under pressure to fish continuously — except 

 when soft-shell closures are in effect — even during the 

 winter months when rough weather results in heavy loss 

 of gear and when crab production in the United States 

 depresses prices. With individual catch allocations, regu- 

 lated seasons would be unnecessan.- and fishermen could 

 take their quotas whenever it was most advantageous to 

 do so. 



HERRING SPAWN'-ON-KELP 



The recently developed herring spawTi-on-kelp fishery 

 is exceedingly lucrative, and it holds great promise for 

 expansion. In these respects it is similar to the abalone 

 fisher>' discussed below. It is no coincidence that these 

 two small fisheries, which have continued to sustain high 

 profits, are also the two main examples of fisheries man- 

 aged through an individual catch quota system. Had the 

 allowable catch not been divided under quota among the 

 licensees in recent years, these fisheries would undoubt- 

 edly have experienced the same overexpansion of fishing 

 capacity and eroded returns observed in other fisheries. 



Indians on the Queen Charlotte Islands traditionally 

 harvested herring roe deposited on the kelp that grows 

 near the low-tide line. But it was not until the early 1960s 

 that Japan began importing the product from Alaska. 

 Interest grew among Canadian fishermen and in 1975, 

 after a successful experiment the year before, the Depart- 

 ment began issuing permits. Unlike the Alaskan fishery. 



