:-W. VI K(1N IISHIRIIS 



iVv<k-<l liii|)ro>i-iiK'iits in MsIhtu's Maiui^^i'iiK'nt 



III many respects the regulatory framework tor manag- 

 ing Yukon fishenes is well developed, and is considerably 

 more advanced than the arranuements tor ocean fisheries 

 \n the rest ot the Pacific region. Licensing systems are 

 well established tor all of the fisheries, and the variety of 

 these apix-ars lo be sutVicient to acciHiinioilatc the special 

 needs ot the territory. 



In the commercial salmon fishery, entry is controlled, 

 as are the commercial catches. The main challenges fac- 

 ing salmon niiinagement lie at sea, t>utside the territi>ry, 

 where L'.S,, Canadian and Japanese commercial fleets 

 catch salmon destined for Yukon, To a large extent 

 escapements are beyond the control of fisheries managers 

 in the territory. As a result of preponderant American 

 involvement, solutions to maii\ management problems 

 hinge on Canada's international agreements with the 

 U.S., which are beyond this Commission's terms of refer- 

 ence. 



In the other commercial fisheries, as in the domestic 

 fishery, licences provide for close control. And the immi- 

 nent agreement with Yukon Indians will allow them to 

 take better advantage of economic opportunities in the 

 fisheries. In view of the advanced stage of these negotia- 

 tions. I make no recommendations on this matter. 



But there are nevertheless significant deficiencies that 

 must be corrected in order to properly conserve and man- 

 age the valuable fish resources of the territory. The most 

 conspicuous of these is the paucity of information about 

 the resources themselves — their size, distribution and 

 yield capabilities — which is a serious obstacle to manag- 

 ing fisheries. 



So little is known about basic biological val- 

 ues of the lakes and rivers and the fish species 

 they produce that knowledgeable manage- 

 ment decisions cannot be made.'" 



This deficiency of information must be alleviated to 

 enable the Department to meet its basic responsibilities 

 for conserving and managing the stocks. Later, I point to 

 a need for this information in connection with habitat 

 protection as well. And under the expected agreement 

 with Yukon Indians, this need will be even more urgent. 



I therefore recommend — 



I. The Department should ininiediately initiate a sys- 

 tematic inventory of the fish resources in Yukon, giv- 

 ing priority to the lakes and streams subject to heavi- 

 est fishing pressure. 



This program should aim at identifying the size and 

 condition of the stocks and their yield capacities. The 

 survey should be carefully planned over a period of years 

 and coordinated with the compilation of catch statistics 



.ukI other information using modern ilala processing 

 techniques llns iiifoiiiialion will enable, among other 

 things, more leliable delenninalioiis ol eDinniercial quo- 

 tas. 



The second conspicuous shortcoming of Yukon fisher- 

 ies management is the imbalance between ihe distribu- 

 tion of fishing pressure and the resources available. Many 

 lakes and streams are very lightly fished, while those in 

 the more accessible areas appear to be overexploited. 

 Because the stocks in the territory are so .sensitive to 

 fishing, it is particularly important to ensure that the 

 pressure of harvesting is not permitted to exceed the sus- 

 tainable yield of the stocks in each lake or river system. If 

 the Department fails in this, the resources will be 

 depleted and the unique fishing opportunities of the terri- 

 tory will be eroded. 



The direction of needed reform is clear. The Depart- 

 ment must rely less on across-the-board regulations and 

 more on discriminating management controls to meet the 

 needs in varying circumstances. Accordingly, I recom- 

 mend — 



2. Tlie Department should progressive!) adopt nK)re dis- 

 criminating fishing regulations and nianageuK'nt tech- 

 niques to take account of the particular conservation 

 requirements of individual lakes and river systems and 

 to maintain a diversity of fishing opportunities. 



These measures could include specific provisions for 

 particular lakes, relating to acces.s, size and bag limits, 

 and permitted gear. In pursuing this more flexible 

 approach, the Department should take account not only 

 of varying resource capabilities but also of the desirabil- 

 ity of providing a diversity of fishing opportunities. Main- 

 taining a rich variety of sportfishing opportunities in the 

 territory is particularly important, and the Department 

 should explore, in consultation with sportfishing interests, 

 alternative arrangements for regulating access and con- 

 trolling fishing effort in order to meet this need. Clearly, 

 the Department's ability to adapt management arrange- 

 ments to particular circumstances depends heavily on 

 resource information of the kind to be compiled under 

 my first recommendation. 



The fees for sportfishing licences were raised 

 significantly this year and so I do not propose a further 

 change now. Clearly though, the fee schedule should be 

 reviewed periodically. For commercial fishing, quota 

 licensing of the kind I have proposed for the smaller 

 ocean fisheries would almost certainly provide a more 

 effective management regime than the present arrange- 

 ments, though such a change does not appear to be 

 ureent. 



