Legal Access to Fisheries
- Hannah Fiegenbaum
- Aug 31, 2020
- 1 min read
The legal access policies currently regulating B.C. fisheries are failing many fishermen and coastal communities. Based on a market-driven philosophy, access to our fisheries is being turned into an investor controlled commodity. This has increased licence and quota value far beyond what most fishermen and coastal communities can afford, leaving many to lease the right to harvest fish from our water, sometimes for up to 80 percent of the landed catch value. If prices drop during the fishing season, fishermen must bear the loss - with negative impacts on their entire coastal community. Several reports have been published regarding this issue:
Fishing for a Future; understanding access issues and wellbeing among independent fish harvesters in British Columbia, Canada (2020)
Addressing Questions on the Social and Economic Outcomes of an Individual Transferable Quota Fishery (2019)
West Coast Fisheries:Sharing Risks and Benefits (2019)
Just Transactions Just Transitions: Towards Truly Sustainable Fisheries in British Columbia (2019)
Caught Up in Catch Shares (2014)
Understanding Values in Canada's North Pacific
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