5. Sustainable Fisheries and Livelihoods for Fishers

Executive Summary

On the Atlantic coast, federal fishery policy, supposedly designed to protect fish stocks, has been disastrous. It is driven by the assumption that a highly mechanized fleet catching fish for export is best for the economy. On the Pacific coast, the DFO (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) regulations enable corporations to own the fishing boats, forcing fishers with quotas to work as "sharecroppers".

What is needed is a fisheries policy that accords coastal communities control over their harvesting, ensuring long-term economic stability.

Indigenous communities that have traditionally relied on the fishery for its main food supply should, in accordance with several Supreme Court decisions, be allowed to follow their traditional practices under a co-management approach.

Priorities

1. Conservation, protection, and restoration of fish populations and the ecosystems that sustain them must be central to maintaining the food security and livelihoods of coastal communities.
2. Rebuilding local markets for fish products is crucial. This involves support for wharf-gate sales, increased marketing of Canadian fish within Canada, and supporting local and sustainably caught value-added fisheries and fair trade certification.
3. Aboriginal jurisdiction over traditional lands and waters should be recognized, and Aboriginal and treaty rights to make a livelihood from fishing must be given priority over commercial and sports interests.
4. Independent family fishers, owner-operator fleets, and fishing with the lowest impact gear type must be prioritized. Where quotas and ITQs (Individual Transferable Quotas) exist, measures should be taken to develop strict transferability clauses that protect fisheries and marine ecosystems and ensure that these are kept within coastal communities.
5. Labeling fish for sale must be clear and honest: the species of fish, the place where caught, and the method of harvesting. Traceability measures should link back to the fisher.
6. Open-pen salmon farming should be banned and closed containment enforced. Salmon and other types of fin fish aquaculture should only be allowed when coastal communities are the direct beneficiaries and managers.

Download Discussion Paper # 5: Sustainable Fisheries and Livelihoods for Fishers (695.13 KB)