Coho Plan Clobbers B.C. Fleet

Published in the Alaska Fishermen's Journal, 1998

Editor,
Canadian Minister of Fisheries and Oceans David Anderson completely changed the way in which commercial fishing for salmon occurs in British Columbia with his June 19th announcement of the coho crisis and plans for restructuring. His stated intentions are laudable and have met with approval amongst the mainstream environmentalist movement. Yet, for the bulk of the family operated seine, troll, and gillnet fleet his coho crisis plan has simply doubled or tripled the burden of making a living without any obvious or clear benefits.
For B.C. fishers, the Anderson Coho Plan couldn't have come at a worse time. Already reeling under the impact of new area licensing plan that forced boat owners to buy additional permits to remain competitive and the lowest real prices for fish in decades, the plan requires changes in the fishing techniques which decreases a vessel’s effective catching capacity and efficiency. While I am not personally opposed to regulations that limit catching capacity, the way in which Anderson introduced these measures has resulted in hundreds of independent, family fishers deserting the fishery this year. Those who have decided to stay are having a tough time making a go of it.

The sector hit hardest by the new changes are the northern area gillnetters based in coastal communities such as Prince Rupert, Bella Bella, or Port Hardy. According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), nearly one third of the gillnet fleet took the one-time buyout of $6,500. During a visit to Prince Rupert in early July, gillnetters I spoke with expressed resignation and desperation. An ill-advised comment in front of a journalist about blockading the Alaska Highway elicited volumes of news coverage but little else: "We don't even have the money for gas to drive there," the fisher said after the hubbub had died down.

Another fisher said: "I had been thinking about retirement. I'm almost 60 and I've had a good life from fishing. But now I'm being forced out: I don't have a dignified way out. If I fish, I'll starve. I'm closed out of the areas where I know I can catch fish. I'm going to take the buyout for this year, but $6,500 will barely pay for the new gear DFO wanted or for my preseason expenses. But if I go out, I'll end up in the hole."
While the picture is a little better for seiners, they too are having a tough go of it this year. The Anderson Plan has radically altered seining in B.C. Hydraulic stern ramps are now prohibited. All fish must be brailed into live sorting areas. The coho, spring salmon, and steelhead are then picked out and only then can the rest of the fish be put into the hold.

To see how Anderson's regulations impacted fishers directly, I joined the fishing crew of the F/V Miss Georgina for a week in early August. Also onboard was an independent observer contracted by DFO to observe and record the vessels compliance with the new regulations.

The biggest impact is the slowdown caused by having to brail each set irrespective of the quantity of fish. A drum seiner typically can complete a set within 45-60 minutes under normal operating conditions. Using a stern ramp allows large sets to be hauled on board and pushed into the fish hold without a noticeable disruption to the fishing rhythm. Having to brail, however, changes the entire picture. This change adds as much as 30 minutes (more for larger sets) to the effective length of a set.

The increased work due to brailing is compounded by the necessity to sort the fish. All coho, spring salmon, and steelhead must be carefully picked out of the sorting tank and if necessary placed into a large reviving tank on deck. The sorting area must be cleared of all fish before a second brailer can be unloaded.

Despite the high level of compliance and general willingness to cooperate with DFO, many fishers are confused by the conflicting signs. Anecdotal evidence from trollers suggest that this year's coho run is in fact one of the largest in recent memory. And, according to DFO statistics, just to the north of Prince Rupert, Alaska fishers have been catching coho at a rate 30- to 50-percent higher than the previous 10-year averages. The Skeena test fishery coho index is running a level HIGHER than the 1990's average. North coast fishers are afraid that they are being sacrificed for issues which may in reality have nothing to do with coho.

Recent years have been hard for commercial salmon fishers. Everyone understands changes need to be made. What fishers don't understand is why are these changes being done in a way that forces the family-owned, community-based fishers out and, ultimately, transfers the resource into the hands of one or two large multinational firms.