NR-PR-01-077E

August 24, 2001

Vancouver - The Honourable Herb Dhaliwal, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and MP for Vancouver-South Burnaby, today announced the release of a 15,800 tonnes Pacific hake reserve to the shoreside processors.

Earlier this year, the hake total allowable catch (TAC) for Canadian waters for 2001 was set at 81,600 tonnes. Of this TAC, Fisheries and Oceans Canada allocated the following:

• 50,000 tonnes for delivery to shore-based processing;
• 15,800 tonnes for delivery to at-sea processors, which permits Canadian fishers to negotiate a favourable price for their catch; and
• 15,800 tonnes to be held in reserve, to be released with priority access to shore-based processing, based on pre-season and in-season assessments.

In all cases, the TAC is harvested by Canadian fishermen. This sharing arrangement is based on a formula that has been in place for three years, continuing through the 2001 season. The formula grants the first 50,000 tonnes of TAC per year to shore-based processing. The remaining TAC is divided 50 per cent to at-sea processors and 50 per cent to a reserve, with the first right to access the reserve going to on-shore processing.

In 2001, Canadian on-shore processors will be provided the opportunity to harvest the reserve which is consistent with current allocation guidelines to give priority access to shoreside requirements.

"I realize the low returns of hake last year placed tremendous economic pressure on a number of communities on the West Coast of Vancouver Island," said Minister Dhaliwal. "The decision to allocate the entire reserve to on-shore processors this year will help support jobs and sustainable development in British Columbia’s coastal communities."

There are four objectives guiding decisions on the hake fishery:

1. Conservation of the resource to ensure its full utilization on a sustainable basis for the continuing benefit of Canadian fishermen, processors and coastal communities who are dependent on the resource.
   
   
2. Stable growth and balanced development of the harvesting and processing sectors of the Pacific hake fishery. This will help ensure a steady and assured supply of fish for the optimum development of the harvesting, processing and marketing of Pacific hake.
   
   
3. Priority access to the resource to meet the requirements of on-shore processing plants, with particular emphasis on the needs of fish plants in small coastal communities adjacent to the resource.
   
   
4. Commercially viable harvesting, processing and marketing of Pacific hake on a sustainable basis.

Following these objectives and in-season review, in 1999 the reserve was released to shore-based processors, and in 2000 the reserve was released for deliveries to at-sea processors.

This is the final year of the three-year hake allocation plan. Fisheries and Oceans Canada will conduct consultations with stakeholders to assess the 2001 fishery to formulate a plan for the future that will help ensure both the stability and development of the hake fishery.

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