Fisheries Act Renewal Developing a Modern Tool to Support New Directions Fall 2005 (FOR DISTRIBUTION)

1. Fisheries Act RenewalDeveloping a Modern Toolto Support New DirectionsFall 2005(FOR DISTRIBUTION)

2. Contents • Context • Fisheries Management Renewal Progress to Date • Elements of a Renewed Fisheries Act • Governance • Allocation • Licensing • Fisheries Co-Management • Administrative Sanctions • Habitat Management

3. Context • The current Fisheries Act dates from 1868; it has served Canadians long and well, but does not reflect or respond to the evolving needs of the resource and to citizens’ expectations • Resource users and others have communicated the changes they seek in fisheries and fish habitat management: Stable management framework; allocation stability; participatory decision-making; co-management; effective enforcement and sanctioning • Many policy and program changes have been made in recent years but some areas require legislative change

4. Context • DFO has engaged resource users and others in recent years on improving fisheries and fish habitat management • Fisheries Management Renewal (FMR) has included: • Atlantic Fisheries Policy Review and Framework • Pacific Fisheries Renewal, including Pacific New Directions, responses to Joint Federal Provincial Task Group on Post Treaty Fisheries and First Nations Panel on Fisheries • Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy (AFS) Review • Fisheries Habitat Management Renewal has advanced through the Environmental Process Modernization Plan (EPMP) • Continuous improvement plan to re-define Habitat Management Program, improve delivery of DFO responsibilities for conservation and protection of fish habitat • Throughout, we have heard consistent messages: Provide predictability, stability and transparency

5. Fisheries Management RenewalProgress to Date • Good progress has been made; four-part Spring 2005 Agenda launched FMR: • Announced stabilization of sharing arrangements in Atlantic commercial fisheries and indicated would address outstanding issues • Examples include resolution of Scotian Shelf Crab sharing issue and regional sharing issue in cod fishery between Quebec and Newfoundland • Pacific Fisheries Renewal announcement and Wild Salmon Policy release provided framework for advancing fisheries management reform on west coast, particularly in salmon fishery

6. Fisheries Management RenewalProgress to Date (continued) • In Atlantic Canada, Preservation of the Inshore Fleet issue proposes a path to deal with related issues of trust agreements, intergenerational transfers and capital gains, and is now being discussed with industry 4. Finally, we needed to determine if legislative change should be contemplated in this phase of renewal

7. Governance • A framework of values and guiding principles would bring Fisheries Act into line with modern governance practice • Minister and department would remain fully accountable to Parliament and Canadians for fisheries and fish habitat management • A proposed governance framework could include: • Preamble to set the context • Purpose Clause • Fisheries and Habitat Management Principles • Access and Allocation Principles

8. Allocation • Current allocation (“share-setting”) process, especially for commercial fisheries, is often criticized for being unstable and unpredictable • However, there is also support for Minister to retain authority over access and allocation • Minister already establishes shares for fleets/groups of fishers for a fixed period of time (a practice rooted in policy); renewed Fisheries Act could lay out principles to govern future changes and the process for doing so

9. Allocation • Proposal could include: • Allocation principles to guide future decisions in marine fisheries • Legal instrument to establish allocations to fleets or groups in commercial, recreational and Aboriginal fisheries in marine waters for specified number of years • Authority for Minister to name advisory body to hold public consultations, develop and provide public recommendations on those allocations • Ability to rescind, alter or replace allocation in given circumstances • This would promote transparency, stability and predictability in allocation of coastal fishery resources

10. Licensing • Licensing provisions of Fisheries Act require updating • Proposal could include: • Minister to set licensing policy in fisheries administered by DFO, department to administer licensing program • Overall licensing framework, administration rules and maximum number of licences prescribed in regulation • Organizations issued licences – e.g. First Nation – would be authorized to designate who would fish licence • Authority to attach licence conditions; fishing contrary to conditions expressly prohibited • Fees set by ministerial order, parallel to Oceans Act • Ability to withhold licences under certain conditions

11. Co-Management • Resource users and others consistently call for more collaborative approach to resource management that makes greater use of co-management arrangements in fisheries managed by DFO • Proposal could include: • Co-management tool which would allow the sharing of authority and accountability between DFO and responsible groups of resource users

12. Administrative Sanctions • Some resource users have called for establishment of an administrative sanctioning system as the primary tool for handling licence violations • Proposal could include: • Arm’s length administrative tribunal operating on east and west coasts to impose licence sanctions and associated supplemental financial penalties on licensed fishers and to process tickets for minor infractions • Alternative to a tribunal model could be an internal sanctioning process

13. Habitat Management • Possible changes to support Habitat program improvements could: • Clarify habitat protection provisions • Provide for alternatives to proceeding with charges and for directing fines for use in habitat restoration