FEDERAL ARRANGEMENTS WITH BRITISH COLUMBIA 229 



iv) Provincial responsibilities in administering and 

 regulating freshwater fisheries. 



v) Integration of freshwater and saltwater 

 sportfishing licences and related administrative 

 arrangements. 



vi) Division of administrative responsibilities for 

 marine shellfish and plants, mariculture, and the 

 gathering of statistical data on marine fisheries. 



I have explained the need for each of these in previous 

 chapters. The issues to be dealt with in the agreement can 

 be summarized briefly. 



Salmonid Ejihancement 



I have made detailed proposals for a renewed inter- 

 governmental salmonid enhancement agreement in 

 Oiapter 5. The present enhancement agreement, which 

 will expire in 1984, requires only some modifications to 

 incorporate the changes I have recommended. This docu- 

 ment is well designed and might serve as a model for 

 other components of the proposed agreement. 



Aquatic Habitat Inventory 



The urgent need for an inventory of freshwater and 

 estuarial fish habitats, and the interest of both govern- 

 ments in this information, is explained in Chapter 3. The 

 agreement should set out cooperative arrangements for 

 an intergovernmental program of systematic field investi- 

 gations, data collection and data analysis to provide the 

 basis for strategic planning for the fisheries, and inte- 

 grated resource management and development. 



Habitat Management 



In Chapter 3 I recommended that the Department 

 should play a more aggressive role in integrated resource 

 planning in cooperation with other resource management 

 agencies, which in British Columbia are mostly ministnes 

 of the provincial government. The referral arrangements 

 for assessing proposals for industrial projects and other 

 developments are the pivot between the two governments 

 in habitat management, and these should be addressed in 

 the federal-provincial agreement. Because it is so heavily 

 involved in allocating forest, water and other natural 

 resources in areas that fish depend on, the province must 

 be encouraged to accept responsibility for protecting 

 habitat in planning and regulating upland activities. This 

 need is particularly urgent for salmon habitat. 



The agreement should set out explicit procedures to be 

 followed by provincial agencies and the Department in 

 dealing with proposed developments and projects affect- 

 ing fish habitat. These should include referral arrange- 

 ments and, where appropriate, means of delivering fed- 

 eral approvals through provincial authorizations such as 



pollution control permits and resource tenure documents. 

 The mitigation and compensation measures proposed in 

 Chapter 3 also might be channelled through these provin- 

 cial authorizations. 



Finally, the agreement should deal with cooperative 

 arrangements in responding to spills of oil and toxic 

 chemicals. I explained in Chapter 3 that both govern- 

 ments have legislation on this matter. In 1981 an under- 

 standing between them provided for cooperation in 

 maintaining a continuous capacity to respond to spills 

 and to deal with crises. The agreement should incorpo- 

 rate these informal arrangements. 



Freshwater Fisheries 



As already explained, the province has assumed, over 

 many decades, full responsibility for administering fresh- 

 water fisheries other than salmon (but including steelhead 

 and other anadromous trout). These fisheries are almost 

 entirely recreational with minor commercial operations. 

 The province maintains stafl" and programs for the full 

 range of freshwater fisheries management including 

 fishing regulation, enforcement, fish culture, habitat man- 

 agement and information. Apart from licensing, the 

 entire program operates under federal legislative jurisdic- 

 tion through tacit agreements between officials of the two 

 governments. Formal recognition of these arrangements 

 should be provided in the agreement. 



Sportfishing Licences 



In Chapter 15 I proposed that the federal saltwater and 

 provincial freshwater sportfishing licences be integrated. 

 The agreement should provide for this and related 

 administrative arrangements, including the appointment 

 of agents to issue them, the collection of licence fees and 

 the distribution of revenues between the two govern- 

 ments. 



Marine Fisheries 



The federal government has retained complete admin- 

 istrative responsibility for marine fishing offshore, but the 

 province's role is significant in neritic, intertidal and 

 aquacultural fishing operations. Earlier in this chapter I 

 noted that the province has assumed responsibility for 

 administering oyster culture and (under uncertain 

 arrangements) clams within oyster leases and wild oysters 

 elsewhere. The federal government has retained adminis- 

 trative authority for other shellfish. 



Both goverrmients are involved in administering other 

 forms of mariculture. The province administers fresh- 

 water fish farms through a system of licensing and inspec- 

 tion, while the federal government administers marine 

 salmon culture with provincial licensing of the freshwater 

 propagation facilities. 



