216 F.NFORdMINT 



regarding fishing activities.) The current IX-parlnicnlal 

 practice is n> rccoinmeiul that the Minister siis[XmhI a 

 licence onl> when a [xtsoii is convictcil of a third otlencc. 

 .'Mthi>ugh the IX-partnient diK-s not keep specific records 

 of the use of" this power, it is estimated that about halt' a 

 do/en commercial licences have hcen suspciulcd over the 

 last five years. Evidently, none have been cancelled 

 outnght. 



In Chapter 10 I recommended that individual quota 

 licences be adopted tor a wide range of conmiercial 

 fishenes, including halibut, groundfish. food and bait her- 

 nng and abalone. The keystone to successful implemen- 

 tation of these programs will be the systematic reporting 

 and recording of the catch of individual fishermen, to 

 ensure that they do not catch more than their quota and 

 that the total allowable catch of a species is not exceeded. 

 As well, a quota system will enjoy the confidence of 

 fishermen only if all are assured that violators do not 

 stand to profit from their excesses. 



The suspension or cancellation of a licence removes 

 the offender from the fishing grounds, whether he be 

 engaged in the commercial, sport or Indian fishery. The 

 fishing industry itself has advocated strongly and unani- 

 mously its support for licence suspension. 



I am convinced that more vigorous use of this enforce- 

 ment technique would act as a powerful deterrent to ille- 

 gal fishing activities. Accordingly, I make the following 

 recommendations : 



23. All categories of licences — commercial, sport and 

 Indian — should be liable to suspension for a violation 

 of the terms of the licence, the Fisheries Act or the 

 regulations, upon the conviction of the licence holder. 



The length of the suspension should be substantial, and 

 should vary according to the nature of the fishery and the 

 length of the fishing season. For second and subsequent 

 offences, the period of suspension should be lengthened. 



24. Licence cancellation should be invoked for the most 

 flagrant of violations and recalcitrant repeat ofl°ender$. 



25. The holder of a quota licence who exceeds his annual 

 quota by five percent or less should be required to pay 

 a royalty surcharge on the excess. The surcharge 

 should he fixed approximately at the average landed 

 price for the species during the month in which the 

 infraction occurs. Where the licensee exceeds his 

 quota by more than five percent, the Minister should 

 be authorized to deduct the full amount of the excess 

 from the licensee's quota eligibility in the following 

 season, and impose the surcharge. For flagrant and 

 repeat violations the Minister should be authorized to 

 suspend the licensee's right to exercise his quota in 

 the fishery for the following season or to cancel it 

 permanently. 



Quota holders will have incentives to land their lull 

 qui)tas over the course of the sca.son according to stock 

 availabililv, market conditions and so on. Inevitably, 

 individual fishermen will exceed their quota entitlements 

 inadvertently ilue to time lags in receiving data on land- 

 ings, unexpectetlly large catches late in the season, and so 

 on. These proposals concerning quotas are designed to 

 make allowance for such contingencies, but to deal more 

 harshly with oll'enders who seriously abuse their privi- 

 leges. 



CONCLUSION 



On the basis of submissions at my public hearings and 

 the Commission's review of the Department's enforce- 

 ment policies and procedures, I have concluded that a 

 major restructuring and reorientation is required if illegal 

 activities that threaten fish and their habitat are to be 

 successfully deterred. The most significant change would 

 be the creation of a specialized fisheries enforcement unit 

 to strengthen the Department's ability to detect and 

 apprehend offenders. Improved service by prosecutors 

 and a reformed scheme of penalties under the Fisheries 

 Act should buttress such a change. 



Later in this report I recommend that the legislation 

 and regulations governing fisheries in the Pacific region 

 be totally overhauled, eliminating the anachronisms, 

 inconsistencies and ambiguities that now confine and 

 hamper effective enforcement. These reforms should pro- 

 vide a valuable supplement to the move toward an 

 improved enforcement regime in the region. 



We must bear in mind, though, that the nature of pol- 

 icy itself determines the nature of an effective enforce- 

 ment effort. Thus, changes recommended in other chap- 

 ters will reshape demands on enforcement. Smaller, 

 rationalized commercial fishing fleets should be more 

 manageable and thus ease the pressure on enforcement. 

 Quota arrangements will, to a large degree, shift the focus 

 of enforcement from surveillance of vessels on the fishing 

 grounds to ensuring that catches are accurately recorded 

 and reported. Recommendations concerning Indian 

 fisheries in Chapter 14 should go a long way toward elim- 

 inating the long-standing friction that has plagued the 

 relationship between the Department of Fisheries and 

 Oceans and Indian fishermen. As well, the changes in 

 approach to habitat management, recommended in 

 Chapter 3, should lead to a more consistent application 

 of the law to other resource users. 



The challenges facing the fisheries enforcement capa- 

 bilities across Canada and the organizational frameworks 

 appropriate to meet them within the Department of Fish- 

 eries and Oceans will no doubt vary from region to 

 region. Special demands are placed on enforcement in 

 the Pacific region because of its long coastline, vast river 

 systems, sensitive freshwater habitat and valuable spe- 



