(Photo credit: Skipper Otto. Image: Fishermen’s Wharf, Vancouver, B.C.)

On July 11th, the government of BC, released their long-awaited Coastal Marine Strategy. I was pleased to witness the robust and extensive consultation process around this strategy over the past few years, and to be invited to provide input as CEO of Skipper Otto and member of the Fisheries for Communities Coalition. The resulting report is extensive, detailed, and reassuring: among the 4 themes is theme #3: Thriving coastal economies and communities, and among the 24 actions laid out is #13: Support Commercial Harvests. In addition to many other very important topics, it is clear from the report that the provincial government of BC has listened to First Nations and other community-based fishers and their allies, and it supports the infrastructure and policy changes we have been demanding for many many years.

From a community-based fisheries perspective, one of the most significant items in this Strategy is the provincial government’s clear support for commercial fish harvesters and for “Atlantic-type fisheries policies (such as owner-operator and fleet separation) to restore and strengthen the economic viability of BC’s harvesting sector, attract and retain new entrants from diverse backgrounds, support robust food systems, and improve distribution of benefits to local and First Nations economies and communities.”

(Photo credit: BC Government. Image: Theme 3 of BC Coastal Marine Strategy document, P.43)

If you’ve been a member of Skipper Otto for a while, you’ve heard me advocating for Pacific Region policy reform for years. Maybe you’ve even heard me speak at the House of Commons as a witness in the Standing Committees investigations into this matter. But if you’re new to this topic, here’s a little context: policies and laws in the Atlantic region of Canada are different from those in BC. On Canada’s east coast, owners of licences and quotas must meet regional residency requirements ensuring that the economic and social benefits of the fishery stay in the hands of harvesters and adjacent coastal communities. By contrast, in BC, licences and quotas can be owned by foreign and corporate interests, driving up the costs of access to fishing, making it nearly impossible for harvesters to persist in their traditional fishing way of life, and siphoning the value of the fishery away from harvesters, shoreside businesses, First Nations, and other local communities.

If this reminds you of similar problems in the real estate sector, you’re not wrong! As we’re all aware, when foreign investors are allowed unfettered access to buy up Canadian properties as investments, it drives up prices of real estate and makes it difficult for local residents to afford homes. To combat this, regional, provincial, and federal governments have enacted policies like speculation taxes, vacant homes taxes, and license fees applied to short term rental properties. They’re not perfect, but they help curb skyrocketing prices of homes while protecting the value in the homes that people have already bought. By the same logic, it is the role of governments to implement policies and laws that preserve the fish in our waters as a resource for First Nations and all Canadians first, ensuring good jobs and resilient local food systems for all, not just profits for the few.

While fisheries remains the jurisdiction of the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, issues related to jobs and the economy are in the hands of provincial governments. And if Federal policies inhibit the ability of British Columbians to access good jobs or divert economic flow away from BC communities and into the hands of foreign and corporate interests, it’s the responsibility of the provincial government to work with the federal government to bring about policy reform. 

In addition to the Coastal Marine Strategy, Premier David Eby wrote a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in May of this year to “urge the government of Canada to work with the province of British Columbia to develop a made-in-BC owner operator licensing policy.” These are very strong words and actions from one government to another and they signify a massive step in the right direction. Finally in BC we’re seeing provincial government counterparts like the Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship and the Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries and Aquaculture apply pressure to the federal government, just as provincial ministers of Fisheries in the Atlantic provinces have done for decades. 

We’re incredibly heartened to have the support of the Premier and his government for this much-needed policy reform. It’s the reform we’ve been asking of the federal government since 2018. Reform that the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans has recommended to the Minister twice since 2019. And it’s reform that would bring BC’s policies in line with those of Atlantic Canada that have been protecting and improving incomes and job security for Atlantic fish harvesters for decades.
It’s time for BC to catch up!

For the full Coastal Marine Strategy Report: Read on here

Written by: Sonia Strobel