1-10 1 ICFNSINC. THP SMALLER COMMERCLM I ISlll Rll S 



in the north Pacific. Total annual catches by Canadian, 

 United States. Japanese and Korean Meets are estimated 

 at iMils aKnit 75 ihou.sand tonnes, leavnig the stocks 

 underutihzed by a wide margin. 



There are now no effective limits on the mmiber ol 

 Canadian vessels that may tlsh for tuna; a vessel carrying 

 a residual species ("C") licence or any other limited-entry 

 licence may participate. But only salmon trollers have 

 had the size, gear and mobility to pursue them. However, 

 this year under special arrangements with the Depart- 

 ment, five large vessels equipped with special gillnets plan 

 to fish for albacore. This will test the suitability of gillnets 

 for tuna, and throw light on the concern that incidental 

 salmon catches might cause management difl[iculties if 

 this kind of fishing were expanded. 



Canada and the United States entered into an albacore 

 tuna treaty in 1980 (after some fnction between the two 

 countries that came to a head in the preceding year). 

 Under this treaty each country waived its 200 mile exclu- 

 sive fishing zone for this species; vessels from each coun- 

 try may fish to within 12 miles of the other's coast. In 

 addition, the treaty provides for reciprocal privileges for 

 using ports and landing tuna, and for the reporting and 

 exchanging of logbook information. In contrast to the 

 long-standing halibut arrangements between Canada and 

 the United States, the tuna catch is not allocated between 

 the fleets from the two nations. Thus, both in Canada and 

 internationally, policies for effectively managing this spe- 

 cies are embryonic. At both levels the rule of capture 

 applies. 



In these circumstances, no purpose can be served by 

 imposing catch quotas on Canadian fishermen. To do so 

 would shackle the future development of tuna for Cana- 

 dians while providing no corresponding benefits. How- 

 ever, the tuna fishery offers promising potential for 

 absorbing some of the excess capacity in other fisheries. 



I therefore recommend — 



65. Until an international treaty is readied allocating the 

 catch of albacore tuna, the Department should issue 

 short-term permits for this species without restricting 

 the number of licences or the total catch. 



These licences should protect Canadian interests until 



such time as knowledge of the stocks is improved and 



international management arrangements become more 

 sophisticated. 



OYSTERS 



Oyster culturing is the most conspicuous and success- 

 ful example of mariculture on the Pacific coast. Indeed, 

 until recent innovations in the herring spawTi-on-kelp 

 fisheries, it was the only one. 



Japanese varieties of oysters were introduced in 19 IJ 

 to I ailvsniith liarbour and Tannv Bay on Vancouver 

 Island. Because the young larvae drift hundreds ot miles 

 by ocean currents, they now occupy beaches throughout 

 the coast, and have largely displaced native species. 



Since 1912, oyster culturing has been administered by 

 British Columbia under a federal-provincial arrange- 

 ment. The province's special interest in this activity stems 

 from its owning the intertidal zone (from high tide to low 

 tide), where the oysters live. The federal government has 

 delegated its jurisdiction to administer this species (as 

 part of its jurisdiction over fisheries in general) to the 

 province. These arrangements have remained largely 

 unchanged since their inception. Thus, the federal 

 Department of Fisheries and Oceans has not become 

 involved with licensing oyster harvesting activities as it 

 has for the other species described in this chapter. 



The province administers oyster production through 

 the Marine Resources Branch of the Ministry of the 

 Environment. A system of leases and licences over 

 foreshore owned by the provincial Crown convey exclu- 

 sive rights to harvest oysters. 



Leases are the more secure of the two forms of tenure; 

 they reserve specific tracts of foreshore for shellfish cul- 

 ture; they are formally surveyed; they carry terms of up 

 to 20 years; and they may authorize buildings and other 

 improvements to be erected on the leased area. Licences 

 carry terms of up to 10 years; they are normally granted 

 in remote areas or to meet temporary needs of licensees, 

 and do not authorize improvements. Both leases and 

 licences may authorize harvesting of other molluscs, such 

 as mussels and clams, as well as oysters. 



Today, 271 leases and licences covering 1200 hectares 

 of foreshore are outstanding. Holders of leases and 

 licences must pay annual rentals of up to $75 per hectare, 

 the amount depending on the size and productivity of the 

 area. There are no quotas on the harvests or charges on 

 the landings. 



For a fee of $10, oyster permits are issued for harvest- 

 ing wild oysters. A royalty of $5 per harvested ton is in 

 place. Pickers are required to hold personal commercial 

 fishing licences (described in Chapter 13) and must either 

 hold an oyster lease or dispose of their harvests to a regis- 

 tered lessee. 



Oyster culturing under leases and licences takes two 

 forms. Traditional bottom-grown operations involve 

 gathering "seed" from wild nursery areas or importing it 

 from Japan and planting it on the foreshore, where it is 

 normally harvested after three years. The recently intro- 

 duced off-bottom culturing technique involves growing 

 oysters in submerged trays suspended from rafts 

 anchored off-shore. This method produces a high-quality 

 product in two years. 



