Representatives of the major regional fishermen’s associations met in Vancouver last week (February 7-9, 2006) to discuss and debate the key issues in today’s commercial fishing industry. The members of the Canadian Council of Professional Fish Harvesters represent organizations in all of Canada’s major fisheries stretching from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia (see member list here). In British Columbia the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union, The Native Brotherhood of BC, and the Area G Trollers association make up the membership.
The key issues that emerged over the course of three days of discussions are: (1) concerns with training and professionalization for commercial fishers; (2) the intergenerational transfer of fishing enterprises, and; (3) the importance of owner-operator and fleet separation provisions. Training and Certification
Given that the bulk of the $1.5 million annual budget provided by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada is to fund training programmes and related skills development research and program development the concern with training makes a lot of sense. The entire first day of the meetings was a dedicated human resources development conference technically separate from the tri-annual general assembly that followed. Key concerns regarding training focus on the establishment of certification boards who’s objectives are to include the training of fishermen in basic safety and seamanship leading to a series of certificates marking fishing knowledge and seamanship up to and including Fishing Master’s tickets. At present the only existing formal certification boards are in eastern Canada.
Intergenerational Transfer
The rising capitalization of fishing enterprises is widely recognized as causing difficulties for new entrants and younger fishermen to gain a foothold in today’s commercial fisheries. Fishermen from east and west coasts alike spoke of the problems that the increasing values of fishing license cause for younger fishermen. In British Columbia, for example, a fisherman who might wish to enter the salmon seine fishery would require at least 1.5 million dollars for boat, gear, and a single area license. Given that current average fishing income for crew members is about $20,000 the 1.5 million price tag is beyond the reach of most fishers without some form of financial support from family, government, or industry. One of the solutions put forward during the assembly was to establish a federal loan program for new entrants. Another solution, one that wasn’t presented to the assembly, would be to force down the price of licenses through regulatory or legislative action.
Owner Operator Provisions
The assembly strongly supported the introduction and maintenance of owner-operator provisions throughout Canada’s fisheries on both coasts. Since 1979 such a provision has existed in the Maritimes. However, BC’s fisheries has been since it’s earliest days a corporate structure with a relatively weak independent sector. The independent fleet has varied in strength over time from the early days when all vessels and fishing licenses where controlled by major corporations, through the post world war 2 period where the independent fleet saw it’s biggest growth, to today’s fleet where vessel ownership may be independent but control over licenses is very much in the hands of the largest companies. Many of the fishermen at the general assembly believed that introducing owner-operator provisions would result in a more equitable fishery and also drive down the cost of licenses thereby making it easier for younger fishermen to enter the fishery.