Northern shrimp capture. (Photo: FFAW)
Northern shrimp policy could be replaced by new regime
CANADA
Thursday, June 30, 2016, 02:50 (GMT + 9)
A federal advisory panel that had undertaken a review on the controversial Last In, First Out northern shrimp policy off Newfoundland and Labrador has recommended abolishing it and replacing it with a new way of allocating quotas.
The panel released a report stating the current policy is not sustainable as it does not "provide the basis for all sectors of the industry to plan and adjust to changing realities and does not promote sufficient ownership and stewardship of the resource by all involved," CBC reported.
The announcement was made by Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Dominic LeBlanc, who welcomed the panel’s report as “an opportunity to share their views and concerns in an open and transparent process, and to ensure that the final decisions for the Northern shrimp fishery take those views into account.”
“I look forward to reviewing the report and will take it into consideration as policy decisions regarding LIFO are made in the coming days," he added.
The panel advocates a new allocations regime including permanent proportional sharing for shrimp fishing areas.
"I feel like this huge dark cloud that's been hanging over the Northeast Coast of Newfoundland and Labrador is starting to leave, and the future is looking a lot brighter today," pointed out Lyndon Small, a shrimp fisherman based out of La Scie, and president of the Independent Fish Harvesters Association.
Other supports of this position against the LIFO policy are inshore vessel operators in this province, who criticized it due to the detrimental effect on their livelihoods and communities and claimed that smaller inshore boats had to leave shrimp fishing areas first when quotas were cut, while larger offshore vessels were allowed to remain even though scientists from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said the stock had declined.
The Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union stressed smaller inshore trawlers in the province are bearing almost all of the burden of cuts in the shrimp quota.
The panel members explained that the proportional system recommended in the report would see each quota holder get a fixed percentage of the total allowed catch and each boat's quota rise and fall in proportion to the year's total allowable catch.
On the other hand, Officials in Nova Scotia have argued against scrapping the policy.
Fisheries Minister Keith Colwell stated the northern shrimp fishery was actually developed several years ago by Nova Scotia’s offshore fleet, which is worth CAD 131 million to the province.
Minister Colwell warned any drastic change to the rules would be unfair and would have a major impact on a fleet with a heavy investment in the fishery.
Related articles:
- N.S. fishing companies fight to keep Last In First Out shrimp policy
- Provincial committee deems LIFO as unfair
- LIFO policy is devasting NL economy, shrimp committee study confirms
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