Quota system unfair and should be dismantled

Sushihunter

Active Member
http://www.canada.com/Quota+system+unfair+should+dismantled/4144520/story.html

Quota system unfair and should be dismantled

Courier-Islander January 21, 2011



An open letter to Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, published here by request.

I am writing to express my concerns with the Pacific halibut quota system. This quota system is harmful and disturbing in many ways, and I urge you to dismantle it.

Halibut are wild fish and common property whose ownership or control should not be transferred to private owners. Allocating 88 per cent of the allowable catch to private holders and limiting the public to 12 per cent offends my sense of Canadian values.

Recreational fishing deserves a higher priority, because it is morally right that the public should have access to our own fish, and because sportfishing produces much greater activity and economic benefits to all. Currently, 80 per cent of halibut anglers are from B.C. and not guided, and of anglers who are guided, 65 per cent are Canadian, so this is an important issue of public domain. The numbers of public halibut anglers and tourists will grow, and that growth should be encouraged. This is not a conservation issue, it is the dividing of the safely allowable catch.

The tourism industry related to halibut fishing cannot plan ahead for this season because of a quota carry-over from last season, cannot tell potential clients if, or when, the threatened in-season closure will take place. This is a great economic harm that affects west coast communities, from fishing guides like me, to hotel and lodge employees, to tackle sellers and marine mechanics. Sportfishing tourism produces the greatest benefit to the economy per pound of catch.

Money paid by commercial fishermen for the right to fish our halibut ought to be directed to fish resource science and management. Instead, most of the halibut catch is producing huge incomes for quota holders who do not fish and were given that quota for free, as you know. How can it be acceptable, even within the commercial sector, that a fishermen can report paying a season average $5/lb to the quota holder, sell fish for $6.50/lb , and have $1.50 left from which to pay expenses? From that I calculate that quotas of 20 to 30,000 lbs. mean 100 to $150,000 in seasonal lease payments to individual quota owners, some have more. Other sources confirm that quota lease payments make up 75 per cent of the landed value. This also makes halibut a very expensive food for consumers. Further, quota privilege can be sold and transferred into greater concentration of ownership for private wealth and control of our wild fish. I appeal to your sense of fairness to end this.

Minister, please, calculate how much money has been paid to halibut quota holders, get the money back, allocate that money to the fish resource for science and management, and dismantle this quota system.

Rick Hackinen

© Copyright (c) Postmedia News
 
Very interesting report from EcoTrust. Thanks for posting. Clearly ITQ's are not the way to go.
This quota leasing is destructive to the actual halibut fishermen and their crews and results in
the public paying far more for their halibut than might otherwise be the case.
 
Thanks to everyone for the great input. We're all becoming way more clear on how we've been taken advantage of for way too many years. Does anyone know exactly how much of the commercially caught Halibut stay in Canada?

Thanks,
Stosh
 
Thanks to everyone for the great input. We're all becoming way more clear on how we've been taken advantage of for way too many years. Does anyone know exactly how much of the commercially caught Halibut stay in Canada?

Thanks,
Stosh
About 35%.......

Here is another Question;
Does anyone know how much of the Sport caught Halibut stays in Canada?:p;):D.
 
Here is another Question;Does anyone know how much of the Sport caught Halibut stays in Canada?

Given the demographics of the anglers who actively pursue halibut, I would hazard a guess that the amount that stays in canada is likely close or better than 80-90%.

Cheers,
Nog
 
248,024 Licensed Canadians versus 44,000 Non-Resident? I would have to think at least 85% stayed in Canada, unless you really do believe, us Yanks can really out-fish you Canucks! J

Here are some thoughts, and I can’t find anything to prove these thought wrong! First to clarify… it is not 334, right now the recommendation is 318 million pounds. To further clarify, it is NOT a conservation issue in Area 2B!

“The assessment revises last year’s estimate of 334 million pounds at the start of 2010 downwards to 275 million pounds, and projects an increase of 16% over that value to arrive at the 2011 value of 318 million pounds.”

“Projections based on the currently estimated age compositions suggest that both exploitable and spawning biomass will increase over the next several years as several strong year classes recruit to the fishable and spawning components of the population. Projected increases are tempered both by potential ongoing decreases in size-at-age, as well as realized harvest rates which continue to be above target in several regulatory areas.”

PAY ATTENTION HERE!!! This may explain some things! Simply put the commercial sector has been harvesting halibut, put aside for sport sector– they have been getting the bulk of the 5% allocated for “sport” by IPHC – Area 2B! Depending on which numbers you use, Area 2B exploitable biomass is going to be approximately 38.250 (yes, Jim that is in million pounds J).

Here is your “KICKER”!

If you look at IPHC exploitable biomass e.g. “Table 4. Exploitable biomass by area according to various apportionment methods.” You will see IPHC allocates are 20% (which is 5% more) for areas 2A, 2B, 2C, and 3A! I believe that additional 5% allocation would be strictly and solely to accommodate the - “SPORT” sector! Look at the other IPHC allocations, where there is no sport, are 15%. Other words – NO SPORT – NO EXTRA 5%, regardless of which option is used!

If DFO justs allocates that 5% to “SPORT” where it belongs that would equal 5% of 38.350, or 1.9125 million sport allocation! That is almost twice what DFO now allocates the sport sector! I would be glad to send this information to anyone, but it clearly shows in the Table 3, 4, and 6 here:
http://www.iphc.washington.edu/papers/sa10.pdf
 
Me personally maybe take out a few americans not sooo much anymore our dollar is just too strong mostly I get are from canada most are alberta as the majority.bc then sask 3rd soooooooo yup CANADIANS.........................
 
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