753 controlling agreements among the 11,391 declarations filed

By Tina Comeau

SOU’WESTER

Although its been three months since the deadline passed for filing declarations stating whether fishermen are independent core licence holders or part of a controlling agreement, not everyone has filed yet.

But the majority has.

The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans said that as of the end of June, 99 per cent of the declarations had been filed.

But a more interesting number worth noting is how many fishermen are in controlling agreements, which the department is hoping to do away with. Of the 11,391 responses received, 6.5 per cent, or 753 declarations indicated the licence holder was involved in a controlling agreement.

This breaks down to 471 in the Maritimes, 137 in Newfoundland and Labrador, 98 in the Gulf region and 47 in Quebec.

The filing of declarations were part of a federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans policy aimed at preserving the independence of the inshore fleet by keeping the control of licences in the hands of those who fish them.

Fish harvesters who are part of a controlling agreement have been told by DFO they’ll have seven years to terminate the agreement or make arrangements to bring them in line with the policy.

The initial deadline for filing declarations had been October, but was pushed back because of clarification required by both DFO and industry.

Meanwhile those who did not meet the end-of-March deadline will not be eligible for any licence transactions – including renewal, tag issuance, transfer, registration, etc. – until DFO receives their declaration.



QUICK GLANCE

Of the 11,391 declarations filed with the department, 753 fish harvesters indicated they were part of a controlling agreement. This breaks down to:

Maritimes – 471

Newfoundland and Labrador – 137

Quebec – 47

Gulf Region – 98