1. The Evolution of a Commercial Fishery Wes Erikson 4th Generation BC Fisherman Pacific Halibut Managements Association Member Canadian Culinary Federation CCFC Erikson.w@gmail.com 2. Business plan I became captain of my first fishing vessel at the age of 16. In 1987 at the age of 20 I had saved enough money to put a down payment on my own vessel, licensed for salmon and halibut It was a 2 year plan, there was that much uncertainty 3. WHY ARE WE HERE? The British Columbia groundfish fishery has evolved over the last 40 years. 4. The old Days You could catch any kind of fish, anytime , anywhere, using any method Anyone could go commercial fishing - all you needed was a boat and a strong back. Managers and fishermen began to worry about species abundance and an unlimited number of participants Something needed to be done 1971 the government created fishing licenses and effectively limited the number of fishing vessels 5. Controlling Harvests Managers attempted to control fishermen's behavior Gear Time (Seasons) Species restrictions Vessel size restriction M.P.As and area restriction We can navigate around any rule. We are natural problem solvers 6. Six days of fishing 435 vessels Poor quality Low price Fish discarded In the 1980s, the BC halibut fishery needed to change 7. And lives were lost individual quotas (catch shares) was the option we decided to further explore. 8. Motivation 1. Economics (value of harvest) 2. Safety 3. Conservation 9. FEARS Definition: fear almost always relates to future events, such as worsening of a situation, or continuation of a situation that is unacceptable. fear that we may lose something we already possessed or fail to get something we demand Corporate concentration Cheating Job loss Coastal communities Non-fishermen would buy quota Privatization of public resource* The biggest fear was would I get a large enough share The initial division of the TAC is the most difficult aspect of developing a rights based fishery 10. Hail requirements Port monitoring Improved Enforcement 1% ownership cap We designed the fishery to address the fears In 1990 sablefish became an IQ fishery, in 1991 the halibut followed and with it the beginning of monitoring 11. Privatization of public resource The fishery remains a public resource, the only thing that changed is the pie (TAC) was divided and handed out before we went fishing, it is much cleaner than everyone rushing for the pie and fighting for the largest piece. Something changed in the way we viewed our fishery, it felt like I owned a piece and I wanted to protect it, care for it. It felt like security Nothing changed as far as legal ownership is concerned, as affirmed by our BC supreme court in 2014 Malcolm 12. Bilateral Agreement In 1991 Canada and the United States adopted recommendations to established both reduction milestones and a target for halibut bycatch mortality. 13. Canada had little success achieving halibut bycatch reductions until 1996 The fishery was closed until the participants could develop a plan to account for discards and honor the bilateral agreement of 1991 with the implementation of 100% at sea observation and individual allocations of all species including halibut as a non-retained bycatch. 14. LAW OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES The DFO reduced the bycatch mortality cap of halibut from 2 to 1 million pounds and individually allocated it to each trawl licence while allowing for trading of the mortality caps. This had the effect of placing a market value on unused halibut bycatch. For the first time individual trawlers could get paid for halibut, all that was required was that they avoid it. Halibut bycatch fell to 200 thousand pounds in the first year 15. The unused halibut bycatch was automatically transferred back to the directed halibut fishery. In 2002 the trawl sector attempted to establish ownership of the mortality cap and lease the unused portion of the bycatch back to the halibut sector. The government said no, trawl does not own the quota, it an annual privilege. 16. Limited understanding of actual catch, only landings Unreported catch. No data on most non-target species Habitat protection ? One fishery was not enough 17. Many species are encountered MPAs and discarded catch difficult to monitor And this fact did not go unnoticed 18. As a result of pressure from the environmental community, we needed to integrate the various fisheries The next step in our evolution: 19. It began with a problem (unreported catch) We addressed the problem by designing a process This was no easy task 20. 7 fishing sectors participated in the process known as the Commercial Industry Caucus (CIC) (2 democratically elected individuals from each sector) Sablefish Lingcod Halibut Dogfish Trawl Rockfish (inside) Rockfish (outside) 21. The task seemed impossible No trust No chair Consensus process 7 management plans No faith We met for 2 to 3 days every month for a year and still had not agreed on a chair Then we reported our progress to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. 22. Ultimatum 1. All rockfish catch must be accounted for, 2. Rockfish catches will be managed according to established rockfish management areas, 3. Fishermen will be individually accountable for their catch, 4. New monitoring standards will be established and implemented to meet the above 3 objectives, and, 5. Species of concern will be closely examined and actions such as reduction of total allowable catch (TAC's) and other catch limits will be considered and implemented to be consistent with the precautionary approach for management. .and if we didnt figure it outthey would!! Incentive 23. We were motivated, so how did we begin to make progress Selected an independent professional facilitator Developed a mission statement and guiding principles (Our code of conduct) Then we began negotiating and eventually determined how to share fish This had to work for the smallest boat (5m) in the fleet as well as the largest (50m) Guiding principal 24. BCs Integrated Groundfish Fishery Pilot Integration April 2006 7 fisheries, all with various catches needed to combine and become fully accountable. Over 70 species to manage Up to 5 management areas per species Some species managed between nations 25. INTEGRATED GROUNDFISH MANAGEMENT 1 management plan Catch shares for all species and vessels each vessel accountable for all catch whether retained or released Trading of quotas between vessels and fisheries 100% dockside and at-sea monitoring 26. Logbooks are audited against video footage and then compared to the offload Fishermens logbooks are being use in science and management (we can trust the data now) At-sea data provides information on total catch mortality (retained and released There is one logbook for all vessels 27. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS? Markets Managers Resource Safety Selectivity Enforcement Science Costs Improved cooperation among fishermen New jobs (monitoring) 28. How do we facilitate change Define the objectives Identify participants Begin a consultative process With enough incentive any problem can be solved (carrot and stick) Every fishery will have a different design to address specific problems and concerns 29. PROCESS 1. Involve the stakeholders (Involvement is the key to commitment. Without involvement, there is no commitment) 2. Impose a deadline (the work expands to fill the time allocated for its completion), but be reasonable 3. Allow the process to determine the roadmap to the objectives 4. Re-visit the objectives 5. Dont try to engineer the roadmap (stick to the objectives) 6. Trust the process. The process is as important as the outcome (the right answer too soon is the wrong answer) *only a fishermen can talk to a fishermen 30. In British Columbia, the IQ program removed competition among fishermen Able to concentrate on maximizing IQs potential (markets and price) Individual accountability = Individual responsibility (collective responsibility did not work). If everyone is responsible, no one is responsible Transferability was essential in combining sectors into this multispecies fishery 31. We now have the ability to retain all species caught and account for all species discarded B.C. fishermen now lead by example in conservation Individual accountability and monitoring can eliminate the illegal fishing activities We are Accountable, Sustainable and Responsible Photo courtesy of IPHC 32. Why it Works Rights based fisheries can address any issue(s) an Industry/Community wants If the process works, the product (outcome) should reflect the values of the participants and achieve the primary objectives. 33. Governance/ Co-management We have made mistakes and will continue to make mistakes, Mistakes are how we learn. Because we have created a dynamic environment in which stakeholders seek ways to improve the social, economic and environmental conditions, this leads to continued evolution. We have an advisory body, made up of stakeholders that will never be a decision making authority Because of the trust developed over time, it is so respected by decision makers, that almost all suggestions presented by the advisory body are implemented e.g.; Succession planning for young people 34. The four most important components of this fishery are 1. Removal of competition 2. Individual Accountability 3. Transferability 4. Monitoring 35. MOVING FISH Transferability is a important feature of the management system supports selective fishing, staying within allocations, economic efficiency, viability, safety and allows industry to adjust to resource and market dynamics. Vessels are allowed to carryover between years some level of quota underages and overages encourages vessels to fish under their allocation 36. There is no guarantee of success with the formula I have outlined. However, I do know that without these elements in my fishery, there was a guarantee for failure. Many of us now, will survive and thrive because the system gives us the flexibility to adjust, take measured risks, and gather the support to execute a new plan. This has allowed for much better working relationships with everyone involved in the industry i.e. government management, science, processors, buyers, other fishermen, ENGOs, communities, etc. We will continue to evolve and mature over time because this system allows us the flexibility to be innovative. 37. Rather than hope for a life that is problem free, ask for one that is solution full Today I am grateful that we made a decision to live in the solution rather than exist in the problem 38. This is the best managed fishery in the worldof course you should buy my fish. . Thank You