News Release Archive
FISHERIES--INDIVIDUAL TRANSFERABLE QUOTAS
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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.
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Contact: Diane Kenny 902-424-0308
trp Jan. 19, 1996 - 3:50 p.m.