News Release Archive
FISHERIES--INDIVIDUAL TRANSFERABLE QUOTAS ------------------------------------------------------------ Fisheries Minister Jim Barkhouse today cautioned fixed gear fishers in the Scotia Fundy Region not to move too quickly towards individual transferable quotas. Mr. Barkhouse said he has grave concerns that the present state of groundfish stocks and current management practices are bringing pressure upon longliners and gillnetters to adopt ITQs. Mr. Barkhouse said that some fixed gear fishers and a number of processors are advocating a division of current quotas based solely on historical catches over a selected number of years. "I have been watching the process unfold and now believe it is necessary to speak out before it is too late. We need to discuss the consequences of ITQs before decisions are made which may be impossible to reverse. Small handliners and many others with limited catch histories could be completely lost in the process," Mr. Barkhouse said. "We have a unique multi-species fishery in Nova Scotia which has allowed many to survive through some hard times. Socio-economic factors such as the role of independent fishers, community sustainability, concentration of resource ownership, and the incremental costs of enforcement need to be considered," he said. The minister compared the move toward ITQs in Canada and elsewhere as "a freight train which is picking up speed and must at least be slowed down as it passes through this province. It is not my intention to stand on the tracks, but I do appeal to all fixed gear sectors to apply the brakes until we know where we want to go." Mr. Barkhouse called for a meeting of all interests in the form of a workshop similar to one that was held last year when there was even less cod and haddock to divide. He said the fisheries department is prepared to provide a mediator in similar fashion to the request last year from the fixed gear committee regarding sharing arrangements. -30- Contact: Diane Kenny 902-424-0308 trp Jan. 19, 1996 - 3:50 p.m.