VANCOUVER - Fisheries and Oceans Minister Herb Dhaliwal announced today that, consistent with a commitment made in 1998, an independent review of DFO’s Pacific hake fishery will be conducted. The independent review will involve a detailed evaluation of the current hake allocation arrangement and will include a series of stakeholder consultations to obtain views on the 1999-2001 allocation arrangement and suggestions for the future. Under the current domestic hake allocation arrangement established in 1999, a sharing formula allocates the first 50,000 tonnes of the total allowable catch (TAC) for delivery to shore-based processing facilities. Any remaining fish is divided equally between at-sea processing (joint venture with a foreign factory fleet) and to a reserve. The fish kept in reserve is allocated following in-season assessment and consultation with Canadian fishers and processors. This formula was devised in 1998 in response to industry requesting a review of the hake allocation policy used by the government since 1992. The review established objectives for a sustainable and competitive domestic hake fishery and resulted in a new allocation formula to better balance the needs of shore-based processors and hake fishermen. The federal government agreed to evaluate this allocation arrangement after three years and to undertake stakeholder consultation and seek advice on allocation policy for the 2002/2003 season and future years. The results of the review will be presented to the minister
not later than February, 2002. -30 -
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