| In-season Management Programs:
To ensure proper management of the 2001 prawn by trap fishery, DFO will be approving J.O. Thomas as the single service provider for delivering in-season management programs including spawner-index testing and data reporting. J.O. Thomas was recommended by the caucus as the preferred service provider. The PPFA is negotiating a contract with JO Thomas to deliver the required in-season management programs as outlined in the collaborative agreement and to make services available to all prawn licence holders so they can comply with the 2001 licence conditions.
Caucus asks all license holders to contact J.O. Thomas at (604) 291-6340 to make arrangements for services and to ensure they can comply with the license conditions. Please note, you do not have to be a member of the PPFA to make arrangements with J.O. Thomas. Once arrangements have been made, J.O. Thomas will provide each licence holder with a letter they can provide to DFO Licensing confirming their ability to comply with the license conditions. This letter will be a pre-condition for licensing in 2001.
Costs for services from JO Thomas for the period May 1 to July 31, 2001will be $1,440 for vessels fishing 300 traps and $2,880 for vessels fishing 500 traps. In addition, Caucus has recommended that contingency funding ($100 per license fishing 300 traps and $200 per license fishing 500 traps) be paid in the event of an extended fishery. Please note that all funding will be used for the established commercial fishery and will not be used for an offshore fishery. If there is a surplus, license holders will receive a refund in proportion to their payment as a single or stacked license.
Responsibilities of licence holders:
A major component of the collaborative agreement is for the PPFA to provide DFO with $92,590 into a Specified Purposes Account (SPA) to offset enforcement, management and research costs for the 2001 Prawn fishery. The Prawn Sectoral Committee Caucus recommends that each license holder provide $366 for a vessel fishing 300 traps and $732 for a vessel fishing 500 traps to the PPFA to fund the DFO enforcement, management and research activities identified in the Collaborative Agreement. This will provide sufficient funds to manage the fishery from May through July and for an extension of the fishery beyond the anticipated 90 days should stock strengths warrant. Any unused funds on closing of the fishery will be returned to the PPFA who in turn will return those funds to licence holders in accordance with the amount they contributed.
It is important to note that all licence holders are expected to contribute towards the management costs of the fishery. The Prawn Sectoral Committee Caucus has recommended that the PPFA post a list of contributors to the management costs in recognition of their commitment to develop co-management in this fishery. Failure to provide DFO with sufficient funds to manage the fishery could result in a delayed opening or an early closure.
Prawn licence holders are asked to provide payment towards the 2001 management program by submitting a cheque made out to the "Pacific Prawn Fishermen's Association". The PPFA will provide funds to DFO as outlined in the Collaborative Agreement. There are several ways for license holders to make payment:
- You can provide it to J.O. Thomas and Associates at the same time you are making your service provider arrangements for compliance with your license conditions;
- You can send it directly to the PPFA, c/o Douglas A. Johnston & Co. Certified General Accountant, #1 - 4488 Wellington Road, Nanaimo, B.C., V9T 2H3, telephone (250) 758-8383, Attention: Jared Cross, C.G.A.; or,
- You can provide it directly to your fishermen's association and have them send it in to the PPFA for you.
As stated above, any surplus money from the Collaborative Agreement will be refunded back to participating license holders. A detailed summary of activities and costs will be provided to the sectoral committee caucus and licence holders at the end of the season so that everyone understands the program deliverables and how the funds were expended. Furthermore, in 2001 the costs of managing the contracts with J.O. Thomas and DFO will be borne entirely by the PPFA.
Total Costs: For the 2001 prawn fishery the total costs are as follows:
Single License (300 traps)
$1440 J.O. Thomas
$100 J.O. Thomas contingency
$336 DFO activities
$30 DFO contingency
$1906 Total |
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Stacked License (500 traps)
$2880 J.O. Thomas
$200 J.O. Thomas contingency
$672 DFO activities
$60 DFO contingency
$3812 Total |
Plus the $320 DFO license fee.
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