DFO rethinks quota allocations
New pilot project good for harvesters: FFAW
At a time when cod prices are low and the market is flooded, commercial fishermen in zone 3Ps will, for the first time, have a chance to get unused quotas and squeeze more revenue out of the season.
The pilot project by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) gives active fish harvesters more quota by taking it from harvesters who aren’t using their share. Earle McCurdy, president of the Fish, Food, and Allied Workers Union (FFAW), says this is good news for harvesters in 3Ps.
“I think it at least gives them an additional opportunity,” he says. “The cod market now … is pretty terrible.”
The cod quota shared between Norway and Russia in the Barents Sea rose 33 per cent to 994,000 metric tons in 2013, and the flood of cod into the marketplace has pushed prices down worldwide. The current price of cod is 50 cents per pound, down from 60 cents per pound last year. Eight per cent of the 9,600 metric tons of cod quota allocated in 3Ps this year was caught as of July 4.
“A significant portion of the total quota available to industry is not being utilized,” reads a statement by DFO. “In the interest of fostering greater utilization of the total quota available to industry, DFO has agreed to provide additional flexibility to harvesters who wish to participate in this fishery. DFO will temporarily reallocate, in-season, unused cod quota to active harvesters.”
Each enterprise can increase its quota by a maximum of 50 per cent of what DFO originally allocated, and total allowable catch, small fish, and by-catch regulations still apply.
McCurdy says he expects the reallocation will only apply to the under-65-foot fleet, and large offshore vessels won’t be included.
The news release came on June 26, and DFO gave fish harvesters until midnight, July 1 to apply for unused quotas. McCurdy says a lot of fish harvesters didn’t get enough notice or were too busy fishing to apply, and the FFAW is working with DFO to give more harvesters a chance to apply for the remaining quota.
A problem for fish harvesters who get extra quota is that Icewater Seafoods in Arnold’s Cove, the plant that processes most of the cod in the region, is scheduled to shut down for the season on July 18, according to McCurdy. He says FFAW is asking the company to extend its processing season.
“If you’ve got extra quota, you’ve got to have a place to sell it,” he says. “We’re hoping to get the company to expand on their operational time to give guys the opportunity to get that outlet. Their schedule is pretty limiting in terms of the available market, particularly for the 3Ps fleet.”
Overall, McCurdy says he hopes the pilot program is part of a long-term change in the way DFO distributes quotas, a change he says FFAW has been demanding.
“If you look at the big picture — because this issue is broader than 3Ps cod — it’s really about how you allocate fish,” he says. “I think what’s important about this decision is it allocates fish directly to enterprises. The idea of allocating directly to active fishing enterprises, we’ve supported for some time.”